Who is Nara Shikamaru
by andy has an idea
Summary: The story of his life. Taken from the begining until the end. Why? because I was bored. Enjoy! Rated M because Even I don't know what I'll write. don't own naruto
1. Chapter 1

It was February in Konoha. Rain clouds were forming to the north as the cold front from the north was clashing with the warm front coming from the sea to the south. The winters in Konoha were usually mild due to its proximity to a large body of water and distance from the equator. A superstitious person might view this as an omen, but the twenty-five year old shinobi trudging through the giant gates was most definitely not superstitious. As he scratched the few, blossoming whiskers on his chin staring up at the clouds, his thoughts drifted from the now completed mission to his agenda for the evening. There was a time when he would return from a mission, head straight home and pass out on his bed. But she, yeah _she_, told him to meet her when he got back.

_She said she expected me back an hour ago. Damn I'm gonna catch hell for being late. She said it was important. She might actually kill me if I don't show up this time._ He thought to himself as his paced quickened in the opposite direction of his house.

The sun was setting in the west as a twenty-three year old woman sat in a rocking chair on her family's front porch. She watched the clouds forming to the north and sighed softly to herself. The weather was the least of her worries right now. Her thoughts were solely on the man she was supposed to be talking to at this moment and he was now over an hour late. If she didn't love him she would probably kill him if he ever showed his face to her again. Still, something inside her told her that he would make something out of himself some day. He had to and she was going to make whether he wanted to or not.

She could see his figure approaching down the road as a mix of anger and excitement enveloped her. After all, she really wanted to see him and she hoped that this time he wouldn't disappoint her. His pace was quicker than his normal sluggish one, which meant that he really wanted to see her.

As he walked up the steps, she rose from the chair and gave him a stern look.

"Your late." She stated in a harsh voice as she glared daggers at him. He slowed his approach and stopped three feet from her, just out of arms reach, guilt plastered on his face. He would make and excuse, but that would only make matters worse and he knew it.

"Gomen, sorry." He mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. As a defensive mechanism, he raised his hand to scratch the back of his head.

"When are you going to start taking things more seriously?" she asked tone still harsh, eyes still sharp.

He stood there silently; his hand still on the back of his head. He had learn some time ago that when she angry it's best if he just keeps his mouth shut. She said she needed to talk with him, but he knew that meant she needed to tell him something and he needed to say as little as possible.

"I swear, I thought you would be more responsible before…" she didn't finish that thought. She wasn't quite sure what she should say. "When are you going to step up and be a man?"

"What are you talking about!" he took offense. She was questioning his manliness. "I became a jounin. I've been putting aside money for two years now. I've built my own house. Hell, I've even asked you to marry me!"

Her love for him betrayed her for the slightest of moments before her anger took forefront again. "Don't raise your voice to me! That was a year ago, and besides you only asked after I talked to you about it incessantly for a week."

"And yet you still said 'no'" the look of sorrow now returning to his face. His hand defensively returning to the back of his head.

"I just wanted you to take some initiative." The sound of anger had left her voice and was replaced with one of concern. A small smile began to creep it's way upon her lips. "And besides, you're not the only one who's late, Shikaku."

His hand froze to the back of his head. His mind began processing the small amount of information he just received. Actually the rather large piece of information that the small amount implied. At this thought, his eyes opened wide as he stared at the beautifully strong women standing before him. Her dark brown hair and chocolate eyes contrast beautifully with her porcelain skin. Her soft smile made him forget about every harsh word that ever fell from those precious lips. His gaze drew down to her hands which were now cupping her abdomen. He took a step forward, removing his hand from his head and placing it on top of hers.

After a minute of letting it all soak in, his gaze slowly returned to her face. Her features were soft. Her smile even softer. This was why he fell in love with her. Suddenly, the words of his father crossed his mind. _Son it doesn't matter how tough the woman seems, she will always show her soft side to the man she loves._ This brought a small smirk to his lips.

The smirk did not go unnoticed by Yoshino. Still smiling, she furrowed her brow, threw him a questioning look, and said "what?"

Shikaku kept smirking. He slowly leaned in a gave her a soft, loving kiss and as he pulled his lips away he whispered, "well, I guess now you **have** to marry me now."

Eight months later.

Three friends sat together on a couch in the waiting room of the Konoha Hospital. The large man, holding a four month old baby boy, smiled warmly at him thinking random thoughts about his son's future. He glanced at the two men sitting next to him. The looks on their faces were far from the look on his. He smiled at them.

"Don't worry guys. Everything is going to be fine."

"That's easy for you to say. You've already gone through this." The blond mumbled.

"That's how I know everything is going to be fine."

Somehow these words don't seem to ease the minds of his two companions, the black haired one especially. He looked light he hadn't slept in weeks. His mind was somewhere else oblivious to the conversation the two men next to him were having. While the blond next to him was shaking nervously, fidgeting his fingers in his lap as he was kneading dough. The black haired man just sat there in what seemed to be a complete calm staring at some random spot on the wall. At least that's what it appeared to be on the outside. Inside, his mind was racing over a thousand different thoughts with over a million different outcomes, most of which end in his demise at the hands of his wife. A few thoughts ended with the famous word, "and they lived happily ever after", but these thoughts were quickly overwhelmed by the ones of death and sorrow.

His thoughts were interrupted by a blood curdling scream that echoed through the three floors of the hospital. This took a second to register in his brain. It took a couple of shakes from his friends to snap back to reality. When the feeling flooded back into his body, he leapt into action sprinting down the hall faster than either of his friends could ever remember seeing him run.

Arriving at the door, he peered through the window to see his wife violently fending off the now thoroughly frustrated nurses. She caught a glimpse of his face in the window and screamed.

"Shikaku!!!!, I can't believe you did this to me! You better get your lazy ass in here before I tear your head off and rip out your fucking soul!" she emphasized the expletive.

He threw the door open and rushed two steps into the room before pausing and sheepishly sliding over to her bedside under the glares of everyone present.

"I've been in labor for fourteen fucking hours, goddamn it! Why won't he come out! The little bastard is as stubborn as you!"

Shikaku knew better than to say anything. He just stood there quietly, holding her hand, and gritting his teeth through the pain. He thought about switching the hands, but felt it unwise because then he would end up with two broken hands. He wouldn't be able to hold his son, help care for him, or take care of wife. A scenario he played through early in his mind. One of which ended in his own demise.

His mortifying thought process was interrupted by the doctor's elevated voice. "Yoshino-san, I going to need you to push now."

Yoshino let out a scream that would make bears run in fear and pushed with every ounce of energy she possessed. Shikaku knew she gave it her best because his broken hand now had multiple fractures.

"We have a head." The doctor said as nurse began to move in all sorts of directions. "Now comes the hard part, we need to get the shoulders out."

Shikaku winced. Now it was going to be worse. After three more agonizing pushes and three more bones in his hand broken. The baby boy slid all the way out. The doctor held the boy as one of the nurses checked for a cleft pallet. The nurse nodded and the doctor held the boy up and smacked him on the butt.

Nothing.

The doctor did it again.

Nothing.

A look of concern shadowed the faces of the medical staff which was quickly picked up by the couple who were looking on with anticipation.

The doctor tried again. Nothing, again. Silence in the room as everyone looked at one another for an answer.

Then, a soft, low murmur broke the silence. A few incoherent syllables. Relief flooded the room. A few unintelligible sounds nothing more, but years later Yoshino would swear that she heard him say "troublesome".

Shikaku, however, didn't care. As one of the nurses handed him his son wrapped in a towel. He smiled down at his son who looked peaceful as he slept in his arms. Shikaku's hand was throbbing, but he did care. He had a son.

Yoshino's touch on his arm broke his thoughts. He slowly lowered the sleeping boy into his mother's arms.

"He has your face." She said softly as she looked up at Shikaku.

"And he has your smile." He said looking at her.

She smiled at then said shortly. "well, let's hope that's all he got from you."

He just smiled back to her.

Their silence was broken as doctor said shortly. "congratulations, he's a perfectly healthy young boy. Now if you would excuse me, it is now midnight and I'm going home." With that he turned and walked out the door.

They sat there taking turns holding their son, commenting on who features he had and what his future holds. Before they knew it three hours had gone by.

Suddenly their peace was broken as the door flew open. The blond man from the couch earlier stood in the doorway trying desperately to catch his breath. The couple looked at each other questioningly.

Shikaku spoke. "Inoichi, what happened? Is something wrong?"

The blond man still trying catch his breath managed to squeeze out a couple of words.

"…….it's……….a…girl……."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: That was chapter 1, would you like to read chapter 2? You better you son of a bitch. I know the way.

Three Years Later

White. Everything white. It's peaceful and serene. A moment when everything around him seemed to disappear into complete silence. That is, until he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and the white that was so peaceful a moment ago was now leaving him as he was slapped back into reality. He looked up to see who had caused the pain and dispelled the peaceful serenity.

"Shikamaru," she stated roughly. "Don't stare at the sun like that, you will hurt your eyes."

His blank stare lingered on her for a few more seconds than he slowly turned his head back to the sun's warm glow. Then smack again.

"Baka, do you want to go blind."

Yoshino shook her head. He was definitely not her son. He took more after that idiot father of his, but he wouldn't grow up to be exactly like him. Not if she had a say in the matter and she most certainly did.

Shikamaru stared blankly at the woman before beginning a search for something other than the sun to pre-occupy his mind. The trees were nice, but they didn't give the feeling of peace that the sun did. He looked at the grass, and the flowers. They didn't mean anything to him. Feeling frustrated at his lack of freedom as he glanced at the woman who brutally assaulted him both verbally and physically at any chance she would get. He let out a sigh as he once again cast his eyes skyward. He could feel her strong gaze on him so he turned his head in the opposite direction of the sun. That's when he spotted it.

A Cloud.

Elegantly beautiful in its simplicity. The white cloud reminded him of the sun's peacefulness. The fact that it floated freely overhead made him a bit envious. The cloud didn't have an angry, loud mother to berate it. It just floated peacefully through life with any cares or problems. His eyes darted around curiously and found other clouds unique in their own way. The interesting shapes intrigued him. He was pretty sure he liked clouds.

His thoughts were interrupted.

"Shikamaru, it's time to go home." His mother stated as she picked up the basket of herbs she had been picking out of the family garden.

At home, Yoshino walked into the kitchen and set the basket down on the table. She washed her hands in the sink and then grabbed a towel. As she dried her hands, she looked down at her son and sighed. She wondered if anything she said ever registered in that little mind of his. She finished drying her hands, refolded the towel, and placed it neatly back on the counter. Then she turned back to look at him.

She sighed. "Ino is coming over and you're going to play with her."

This was not a suggestion. Shikamaru knew. He just stared blankly back at her.

She cocked her head slightly to the right and gave him a look that dared him to say anything to the contrary.

He just gave a small shrug and continued staring at her. That irked her more than she would admit, but she wouldn't hold it against him. Most children his age had already started talking. If not in complete intelligible sentences they at least made an effort to. Even his little friend Ino hardly ever shut up. Her son, however, hardly ever made a sound. This made her more worried than angry. 'Was he …….' She thought to herself as if thinking the word 'retarded' would curse him forever.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice him leave. He made his way outside to sit on the porch. Looking back up at the sky, he restarted his train of thought that had been interrupted before their return home.

He sighed as one of the clouds reminded him of his mother. He liked his mom. She took care of him. He wouldn't mind talking to her if she wasn't so ………….

He couldn't think of a word to describe her. Not for the lack of trying. He strained his little mind over it until it began to hurt. He sighed again. Just thinking about it was………..

The word escaped him again. Luckily or unluckily for him his thoughts were broken again when he heard the gate swing open. A tall blond woman was walking up the path to the house holding the hand of an equally blond but very short little girl, whom he recognized immediately.

"Konnichi wa, Shikamaru-kun." The tall blond woman said smiling down at him.

He looked back at her with a blank expression. "Arigato gozaimasu" he said flatly. He only said it because if he didn't his mother would scold him for being so rude.

The blond woman's attention moved to her hand which was now being drawn behind her back. She chuckled at her daughter's shyness.

"Say hello to Shikamaru-kun, Ino" she said sweetly.

The little girl slowly peeked out from behind her mother. Her wide, blue eyes slowly made their way from the ground to Shikamaru. She whispered softly, "Konnichi wa".

Her mother smiled at her again. "I'm going inside to talk to Yoshino-san. You stay out here and tell Shikamaru-kun about what you learned today, ok." She looked down at the young girl with a straight face.

The young girl answered with a nod. Her mother let go of her hand and proceeded up the steps to the house. The little girl stood there nervously, playing with her fingers, staring at the ground. Slowly she lifted her stare from the ground to the porch then shifted her focus from the door her mother just walked through to the boy who had been sitting there.

When she noticed that his look was no longer on her and cast towards the sky, she felt her nervousness lift. She began to speak. Small talk at first about how nice the day was and how pretty every one of her mother's friends said she looked. She paused for a second to look at the boy again noticing that his position hadn't changed. Not feeling the least bit ignored she tore into what her mother suggested that she talk about, the names and purposes of the different flowers that she learned today.

Shikamaru on the other hand was in his own world. The clouds moving freely reminded him of so many things he had seen before. His mind wandered randomly to each cloud that passed overhead. One of them looked like a leaf. One of them looked like a ninja tool that his father carried in his pouch. One even reminded him of the Hokage.

His thoughts were interrupted by two finger snapping in front of his face.

"Shikamaru! Are you even listening to me?"

He looked at her with his blank expression still plastered on his face. She didn't even give him time to respond. As soon as she saw that his attention was on her she resumed talking again.

Shikamaru only responded in his mind. 'You lost me at Hello.'

Later that evening, Yoshino was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Shikaku sat with his son on the couch in the living room. He raised his eyes from the book he was reading to look down at his son. He was growing so fast. Pretty soon Shikaku was going to have to put him to work around the grounds. He noticed that his son looked deep in thought and wondered to himself what could occupy a three year-old boy's mind so much.

"Shikamaru, yo." Shikaku said as he watch his son turn and look up at him questioningly. "Is there something on your mind?"

Shikamaru stared at his father for a minute before turning his head back to whatever it was he was staring at early.

Shikaku shrugged it off. If his son didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to force him. He rather liked the fact that his son was quiet. It was one less thing to trouble his mind. Shikaku went back to reading the book, but was interrupted shortly thereafter when his son spoke.

"Tou-san"

Shikaku looked down at his son. His son rarely spoke so when he did he want to listen.

"Tou-san, why…….."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow. There was definitely something on his son's mind.

"Why are…….women ………so………" Shikamaru seemed to be searching for a word in his mind. The same word he had been searching for early in the day and he still hadn't found it.

"What about women?" Shikaku questioned.

"Why are women…so…………….like women?"

Shikaku heard the question and knew what his son was trying to ask. Shikamaru had noticed that there were differences between the male and female species.

"Shikamaru, yo." Shikaku said to regain his son's attention. "A woman is a mysterious thing. Men have tried their entire lives to understand the complexities of women only to fail miserably. The only thing we really know is that the world would never exist without them. Keep that in mind son when you get older."

Shikaku looked down at his son who seemed to be processing the information he just received. Then a look of understanding crossed his face followed by small smirk. Shikaku didn't need to say anything more, so he went back to his book.

After Shikamaru went to bed, Shikaku and Yoshino sat on the very same couch. He was reading the same book and she was sipping on her evening tea. Shikaku took a look at his wife. She had a concerned look on her face. Shikaku made a show of closing the book and setting it on the table. He looked her directly in the eyes until she seem to notice he was doing so.

"Yes"

"You look concerned about something" he said questioningly.

She turned her eyes away from him. She was afraid to voice what she was thinking. She was afraid it would curse him.

"What is it?"

She looked him. She knew she could hide her worry from him. "I'm worried……..about our son."

"Oh." Eyebrow raised.

" I think……" she hesitated. "I think….. I think he…….might be……. Slow."

"Slow?"

"You know what I mean." She said giving him a scowl.

He chuckled and this earned him a slap.

"This is not funny, I'm serious. What would we do with a….slow….child?" the concern in her voice was thick.

Shikaku just smiled at her. "He's quiet, not retarded. Besides he and I had an interesting conversation this afternoon. I doubt a retarded little boy could hold an interesting conversation on a complex subject now could he."

Yoshino looked shocked. "What? He actually talked to you?" Her eyes darted around in thought. "What did you guys talk about?" she asked innocently.

Shikaku laughed then coughed to clear his throat.

"Women."


	3. Chapter 3

Two Years Later

Shikamaru was walking with Yoshino through the markets of Konoha. Yoshino walked quietly from stall to stall, peeking in to see if something caught her eye. When she saw something of interest she would step in and inspect said item.

This gave Shikamau some time to observe his surroundings. To his dismay, the cloth canopy that covered the market obstructed his view of the clouds. However, the crowded streets were full of information. There were people everywhere and plenty of intriguing objects to keep his attention.

He listened in on people's conversations as they passed by him. Two women passing bye were discussing the intricacies of particular dish that Shikamaru thought tasted horrible. Three men were having a particularly heated conversation about the importance ninja hold in today's society. A little boy who had fallen and scraped his knee was now being consoled by his mother.

A cluster of enticing and pungent smells assaulted his nostrils. From the aroma of spices and herbs coming from the stall across the street to the putrid smell of dead animals coming from the butcher's stall down the path, he let his eyes follow his nose as he identified each particular smell. The smell of fresh bread turned his head the other direction until the smell of a local bum relieving himself on the stall next to him caught his attention. He smirks as the merchant chased the vagrant off with a wooden stick.

A squeal caused him raise his left index finger to his ear. He turned to find the source was three girls who were running through the market being chased by a couple of boys holding an odd looking reptile. One of the girls slammed into an old man with a cane who had been walking through the market. She recovered quickly and scampered off before the boys could 'assault' her with the disgusting lizard. The old man sat up as the boys ran past him in hot pursuit of their victims.

"You little bastards!" the old man screamed as he waved his cane at disappearing figures.

Shikamaru walked over and assisted the old man to his feet.

The old man brushing the dirt from his robe murmured, "Troublesome kids."

Shikamaru just stared at the man, contemplating the words he had spoken. The old man finished dusting himself off before looking down at Shikamaru. The scowl on his faced disappeared as he looked at him.

"Arigato." He said shortly as nodded and turn to continue his slow trek through the market.

Shikamaru tilted his as he watched the old man disappear into the crowd. The word 'troublesome' rang in his head. It was an interesting word. It would easily describe many of the things that 'troubled' his mind. The more he thought about the more the word grew on him.

Just then, one of those 'troublesome' things in his life interrupted his thoughts.

"Shikamaru, we're going." She stated.

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A few minutes later, the two arrived outside the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Yoshino stopped at the door and turned around to look at her son. She wondered why her son hardly ever spoke to her. Maybe he needs to be more socially active, she thought. She glanced over to the small park across the street and saw three boys around his age kicking a ball around. She leaned down and kissed her son on the forehead. He turned his eyes towards her with a questioning look.

"I'm going inside to talk to Ino's mom. You go and play with those boys over there." She pointed in the direction of the park.

Once again, this was not a request. Shikamaru knew. He gave a slight shrug and lazily walked over to the park as his mom watched him smiling. As he reached the park entrance his mother turned and walked into the flower shop.

Shikamaru just stood in the entrance to the park. His eyes lifted towards the sky as he sighed. His concentration was broken as something bumped into his feet. He looked down to see the ball the other boys had been kicking around. He looked back at the boys who seemed to be waiting for something. He looked at the ball then back at the boys again. He gave the ball a lazy kick and it dribbled over to the feet of one of the boys.

"You wanna play?" one of the boys shouted at him.

Shikamaru didn't really want to play. He was happy just watching the clouds. However, he knew that if he didn't participate in something his mother would probably scold him. How troublesome.

He didn't even get a chance to answer as he was bumped aside by three more boys followed by a short, pudgy one who stopped next to Shikamaru to pause and catch his breath for a few seconds before hurrying over to the group of boys now gathered in the center of the park. His interest piqued as the boys were now talking excitedly about something. He began to walk over towards them.

"Alright, its settled." One of the boys spoke up. "We're going to play ninjas."

Shikamaru was now standing right behind the group of boys who brushed past him earlier. Two of the boys who seemed to be leading this 'endeavor' started calling out names of the boys who were standing around. As each boy's name was called he would go stand by the boy who called him. A couple of minutes later all the boys were standing on opposing sides except for Shikamaru and the pudgy kid.

All of the boys were now staring at both of them. Shikamaru found this situation more than troublesome and was seriously considering turning around and walking away. Before he could make his body move, one of the boys spoke up.

"I call the new kid." He spoke.

"No you don't. It's my turn, and I call the new kid." The other boy called out. "You can have Chouji."

"No way, whatever team Choji's on always loses. We'll just play without him."

The other boys seemed to nod in agreement. This didn't make sense to Shikamaru. They would be playing with a handicap.

Shikamaru spoke up. "But that doesn't make any sense. You'll be playing with one less man."

"Nobody likes Chouji. He always screws up." One of the others offered his opinion. The others seemed to agree with him.

"Then its settled." The leader of the now three-man team stated. "And you guys can't complain cause you'll have an extra man."

The leader of the other team nodded. "Alright, let's go."

With that six boys sprinted out of the park and took off in opposite directions. Shikamaru watch as they disappeared down side streets and alleys. He turned his attention to the short, pudgy boy who was now walking off distraught. Why were the others so mean to him, Shikamaru thought. Maybe he wasn't the best at 'playing ninja', but they didn't have to treat him like he had a deadly disease.

Shikamaru followed from a distance. He watched as the boy climbed the stairs of a familiar building to a spot where Shikamaru enjoyed watching clouds from. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, debating to himself where or not to go up. He looked up at the clouds which were particularly nice today and decided he could at least go up and watch the clouds. It wouldn't hurt.

As he rounded the corner, he saw the boy sitting on the bench with a man that looked and awful lot like the boy did. When they turned to look at him he called out.

"Oi, you're sitting in my favorite cloud watching spot."

The boy looked at him. "Aren't you that boy who was playing ninjas with those other boys?"

Shikamaru just smirked as he sat down on the bench next to the boy. "Nah, it was too troublesome. So I left."

The pudgy kid looked up at his equally pudgy father who just looked down at him and smiled. The boy turned around to look at Shikamaru who was now lying back on the bench. Shikamaru drew his attention from the clouds to the boy who was now looking at him wide-eyed.

"Do you really just sit here and watch clouds?" the boy said.

"Yeah, they're nice."

The boy looked up at the sky for a few moments to determine that they were in-fact nice. Then he turned around to face Shikamaru again.

"I am Akimichi Chouji of the Akimichi clan." The boy said smiling.

"Nara Shikamaru"

Chouji turned and started digging excitedly through a bag that was setting next to him. When he found what he was looking for. He turned back to Shikamaru with a huge grin on his face. His hand reached up to wipe the saliva that was now collecting on his cheek.

"I brought snacks. Would you like some snacks?" Chouji asked.

"Yeah."

Chouji pointed the open end of the potato chip bag towards Shikamaru who reached in and pulled out a few chips. Chouji turned back around and began shoveling chips into his mouth as he looked up towards the sky.

Shikamaru chewed the chips quietly as he watched Chouji looking up at the clouds. He's pretty quiet and he brings snacks. Also he seems like a really nice guy. He doesn't seem to be too troublesome. Shikamaru thought as he looked back up at the clouds. He also seems to like clouds, too. Maybe we could be friends.

Ten minutes later, Shikamaru heard his name being yelled by his mother. He sat up and looked over at Chouji.

"Well I got to go. If I don't my mother will scold me." He said as he got up and started to walk towards the stairs.

"Bye, Shikamaru." He heard Chouji call out from behind him. Shikamaru raised a hand as he walked down the stairs.

When he reached the bottom, his mother had caught sight of him. She stormed over to him and glared down at him.

"Don't run off like that. You had me worried." She said in a harsh tone with a slight hint of concern.

Shikamaru just shook his head as he looked down at the ground.

"Troublesome."

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys. And thanks for the constructive criticism Big Pája. You had a lot of questions so I guess I'll answer them one at a time.

How long do you think you can keep this story up? Well I've got an ass-ton of ideas so I guess I can keep it up until I decide to kill Shikamaru.

How long do you think it will take you to reach the beginning of the cannon time line? Probably three or four more chapters.

When you do will you end this story or continue it in another one? As I wrote in the description, from the beginning to the end. So I guess from birth to death. I like to follow the cannon when I'm near it, and yes basically what Shikamaru was doing when he wasn't in the cannon as well as some of the cannon mixed in.

Have you considered making it a beta? I'm new to writing in this format. So I have no clue what a 'beta' is. If you would enlighten me.

Also if you guys catch any mistakes I made let me know what and where so I can go back and correct them. Thanks again for the reviews.


	4. Chapter 4

Two and One-half Years Later

The sun shone down warmly on his face as he gazed towards the sky in search of clouds. He scanned the sky from horizon to horizon but found none. How can this be, he thought to himself. Even during the dry season, Konoha had an assortment of clouds. He studied the sky again, slowly turning in a circle atop a grassy hill. Racking the focus of his eyes from near to far and then back again, he scanned the ominous blue sky. He could not even find a speck of white on the ocean of blue. He let his eyes drop to the grass beneath his feet. After a moment of pondering this anomaly to himself, something even more shocking caught his attention. He couldn't hear anything. He couldn't hear the grass squishing beneath his feet. He couldn't hear the crickets or the birds chirping. He couldn't hear the hustle and bustle of the market or clashing sounds of ninja practicing. He couldn't hear the wind…..the wind that carried his precious clouds across the sky. He frowned.

It wasn't long before the silence was broken however. He turned to find the source of the loud, shrill voice that was now causing his ears physical pain. It was Ino. She was blathering on about something or other. Shikamaru didn't care. He turned to make his escaped when he was halted by the neighbor lady who always talks his ear off every time she sees him. He was growing frustrated. The frown now turned into an ugly scowl. He started back-peddling away from the two women, but he didn't get far until bumped into something. He looked up and saw his mother's angry face looking down on him. He spun to face her when she began scolding him about being lazy. He darted his eyes around to try and find an escape. As he looked, he could see more and more troublesome women converging on his location. He started breathing shorter and faster. Panic was beginning to take hold of him. He looked to the sky in desperation and found that there were still no clouds in the sky. He opened his mouth to let out a scream but nothing came out. He collapsed to the ground and his eyes returned to the grass. This was more than troublesome.

_Knock. Knock. Knock. _"Wake up, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru open his eyes to reveal a dark room. He blinked a couple of times to help his eyes adjust.

_Knock. Knock. _"Shikamaru, get up!" his mom stated harshly making sure to slowly enunciate each syllable.

"Hai." Shikamaru said as his right hand made its way to his face in a half-ass effort to cover a yawn.

He rolled over and pulled the covers up to his neck. He closed his eyes and thought about falling back asleep, but he gave it a second thought as he heard his mother pacing up and down the halls completing the tasks that consisted of her morning ritual. He re-opened his eyes and looked at the curtains that covered his window in trying to see hints of the morning light escaping from the edges. No such luck. He rolled back over and sat up. His left hand stretched out and grasped the alarm clock turning it to reveal its LED display. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the bright red numbers. _4:00AM._ Who the hell in their right mind would wake up this early? Shikamaru thought as swung his legs over the side of the bed and began to rub his eyes.

When Shikamaru made his way into the dining room, he saw his father sitting at the table cutting a piece of an apple and eating it as he waited for his wife to cook breakfast. Shikamaru walked to the table and sat down opposite his father. He placed his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands. After a minute he heard his father 'hmph'. He peered at his father through spread fingers. Shikaku just smirked, shook his head and continued on with his apple.

"Oi, Jiji," Shikamaru grumbled. "Why are we up this early?"

"Shikamaru, yo," Shikaku grumbled back. "First of all, I am not that old. Secondly, it's time to inspect the deer." Shikaku popped another piece of apple into his mouth.

Shikamaru rubbed the frustration and sleepiness out of his face and sat up straight as his mom was now bringing breakfast to the table. He knew his family had to take care of the deer, but why did they have to do it so early. The deer would still be there in the afternoon, wouldn't they. Shikamaru sighed mentally. Thinking too much this early was troublesome.

When Shikamaru finished breakfast, he set his chopsticks on his plate and looked at his father who was taking a sip of his morning tea. Shikaku eyed him from over the top of the mug. He then tilted his head towards his wife before breaking eye contact with his son and making eye contact with his wife. Shikamaru turned his head towards his mother who now had broken eye contact with Shikaku and was now staring down her mug at Shikamaru. She looked from him, down to the plate, and then back to him again.

Shikamaru understood what she was saying so he excused himself and picked up his dishes. As he walked pass his parents, Shikaku stacked his and his wife's plates on top of the one in Shikamaru's hand. Shikamaru growled, but Shikaku just smirked and went back to his tea.

When Shikamaru return, Shikaku stood up and kissed his wife before turning to Shikamaru.

"You'd better grab your jacket. It's quite chilly this morning."

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Fifteen minutes later, the two Nara men stood at the edge of a clearing in the middle of the forest. The peace sound of the brook that ran through the clearing, only mad Shikamaru sleepier. As he yawned, Shikaku bumped him with an elbow and raised his index finger to his mouth instructing him to remain silent. Shikaku walked out into the clearing and began spreading some homemade deer feed on the ground. He returned to Shikamaru and the two men took up position a few feet into the forest.

They waited silently for over an hour, all the while scanning the clearing for signs of movement. The sun was now rising and the strategically hid in the shadows falling to the west of the tree line. Shikamaru felt a hand on his shoulder so he looked up at his father who was staring through the clearing intensely. Shikamaru followed his gaze to see what his father was looking at. Shikamaru couldn't see anything at first, but he knew his father had been doing this for many years. He trusted his father's insight and kept his eyes trained in the direction his father had indicated. Sure enough, after a few minutes Shikamaru could see movement at the tree line.

One doe at first was joined by a second shortly thereafter. The two dear held their heads high and scanned the clearing checking for predators. After five minutes, the two doe began to slowly creep into the clearing, still remaining vigilant. Shikamaru could see more movement stirring at the edge of the clearing. Three fawn came stumbling out of the forest behind the doe. Shikamaru smiled as he watched that fawn bound past the vigilant doe to the brook. Shikamaru looked back up at his father to see his father returning his look. Shikaku just held up a finger and shook his head. These were not the deer they were looking for.

They continued to watch as the deer drank from the brook. One of the doe who had finished drinking had discovered the deer feed that his father had lain out earlier. Shikamaru felt his father shift his weight and looked up to see what was wrong. His father's gaze had returned to the spot where the doe had first appeared. Shikamaru could see some movement between the trees. Slowly the antlers and the head of a big stag came into view across the clearing.

The stag followed standard operating procedure, checking the clearing for a few minutes, remaining vigilant as he approached the brook, and joining the rest of the herd at the feed.

Shikaku looked back at his son and waited for him to return his stare. When Shikamaru caught his eyes, Shikaku nodded as to say the time had come. Shikaku then slowly made his way to tree line. He just stood there for a few minutes to see if the deer would notice his presence. When after a few minutes the deer still hadn't noticed his presence, Shikaku shuffled the pack of deer feed on his belt. The noise alerted the deer. Ears and heads shot up throughout the pack. The doe and fawn made an immediate bolt for the tree line.

The stag, however, stood still. Head held high, he eyed Shikaku nervously. Shikaku just stared the animal in the eyes for a few minutes until the stag visibly relaxed. Shikaku approached slowly, pausing with each step to make sure the stag didn't get startled, the whole time never breaking eye contact with the wild animal. Shikamaru noted that it seemed to hypnotize the timid creature. When Shikaku was within a few feet of the deer, he slowly reached into the feed pack on his hip and offered and handful to the stag. As he closed the distance, the stag raised his head higher to maintain eye contact with the tall Nara. When the stag felt comfortable with him, it lowered its head to the feed in his hands. Shikaku gently rubbed a spot on the stag's head in the center just above the eyes.

When Shikaku thought the deer was as comfortable with his presence as he was going to get, he used his free hand to signal Shikamaru to come join them. Shikamaru follow the same path with the same pace as his father. When he reached the two, Shikamaru offered the deer his own feed and took over patronizing the stag's forehead.

Shikaku moved deftly down the deer's side, checking the deer's pelt for lesions or infections. He inspected the back and leg muscles to ensure they were working properly. He scrutinized each hoof for cracks and breaks. He then moved to the tail end. He lifted the tail to inspect 'what', Shikamaru wasn't sure he really wanted to know. Shikaku stood when he finished inspect whatever it was Shikamaru was afraid he was inspecting. He returned to his son's side and used the width of his had to measure the length of the stag's antlers. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a note pad. After scribbling down some notations, Shikaku reached into his feed pack and offered the stag some as thanks. When the deer finished, Shikaku wiped his hand off on his pants and nodded to the deer. The stag then turned and walked off in the direction it had first approached.

Shikaku turned to his son, and then nodded in the direction of the house. With that, the two Nara men walked off in silence.

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When they exited the forest, Shikaku stopped. He looked up to the sky with one hand as a visor and found the sun. It was mid-morning. Shikaku drew in and let out a deep breath. The whole ordeal took less time than he had anticipated. He looked down at his son who himself was looking up at the sky.

"Shikamaru, yo." He said to grab the boy's attention. When his son looked at him, Shikaku continued. "How old are you son? Five? Six?"

"I'm seven."

Shikaku chuckled as his postures straightened in embarrassment. He rubbed the back of his head as he pondered to himself.

"So you turn eight this fall?"

"Hai."

"Hmm," Shikaku stroked the hairs on his chin. Debating to himself about something. "Your growing up so fast."

Shikamaru could see his father had something on his mind. "What's so troublesome, tou-san?"

Shikaku Smirked at his observant son. "Well….most children in the village around your age, if they choose to do so, join the academy. You know…..the ninja academy. To……you know …… study to become a shinobi."

Shikaku chuckled in embarrassment again as his son stared at him blankly.

"Well, son…..I guess….what I'm trying to say is….." Shikaku paused with no visible reaction from his son.

"Do you want to be a shinobi?"

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A/N: thanks once again for the reviews.

Side Note: I would usually like to follow the cannon as much as possible when I'm there, but in my third chapter Kishimoto presented me with a conundrum. Yes, in the manga Shikamaru reference shogi in the flashback where he meets Chouji for the first time. However, later on(I believe ch.328) a flashback in which Asuma introduces the game to Shikamaru. So how could I have him reference a game he hasn't been introduced to yet. In the end, I decided that I could drop the reference in my third chapter and make more out of the whole introduction by Asuma.


	5. Chapter 5

Six Months Later

"Shikamaru, don't be late for class again." Yoshino called to her son from the kitchen.

"Hai, hai." Shikamaru said as he slipped on his sandals.

Yoshino peaked around the door way to the kitchen drying her hands in a towel.

"One 'yeah' is enough."

Shikamaru grumbled 'troublesome' under his breath as he stood up and grabbed his bentou off the table next to the door.

"Ja ne." He said as he exited the house.

At least his walks to class were quite peaceful. The sun was up and it warmed his body. The clouds were always a nice greeting to a new day. If he made a left instead of a right at the gate, he could avoid the neighbor lady who would try to talk his ear off. Even though it made his trip a little longer, it allowed him to spend a few extra minutes in the least troublesome time of his day.

The path also took him by his best friend's house. As he approached, he could see his friend standing out in front of his house. Shikamaru paused for a second as he watched his friend raise a pudgy index finger horizontally in the air. Shikamaru tilted his head to the side in curiosity as he watched a beautiful blue butterfly land on Chouji's finger. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile at the huge grin that shone brightly upon Chouji's face. He wished other people would see his friend the way he did.

"Hey, Chouji, you ready to go?" Shikamaru said as he stopped next to his best friend.

"Shikamaru!" Chouji shouted as he turned to see his friend. The huge smile still plastered on his face. He nodded in answer to the question and picked up what he would call a 'bentou' what everyone else would call a four course meal. With that the two friends were off, admiring what each of them found beautiful in this world.

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When they entered the classroom, they walked past the melancholy boy brooding in the front row and sat in the desk behind him. After they had situated themselves, Chouji was the first one to speak.

"Hey, Shikamaru, do you want to go to the candy store after class?"

"Eh, Chouji, you're lucky. You have a nice mom. I'll get scolded if my mom found out I ate candy before dinner."

The conversation ended there as Iruka and Mizuki entered the classroom. Iruka addressed the class and all the students began to pull out paper and pencil, All except Shikamaru. He was suddenly feeling his eyes grow heavy. Mizuki went to the blackboard and started writing as he described basic platoon movements for standard patrolling operations.

Shikamaru's eyes closed completely. He could feel sleep pulling him down towards the desk. To counter-act the movement, he put his elbows on the desk and propped his head in his hands. It didn't help. The more Mizuki talked the more Shikamaru felt the sleep trying to take hold. Eventually his body betrayed him as his arms fell crossed on the desk and his head fell into his arms. It only took a few seconds for him to fall fast asleep.

A sharp pain on the top of his head, a piece of chalk bounce off is head and fell harmlessly to the ground. Shikamaru raised his head and opened his eyes just enough to see Mizuki scowling at him. He didn't even care that the inch and a half drool that was now touching his chin didn't make him look any more innocent.

Once Mizuki returned to teaching, Shikamaru's head fell right back into his arms. When he once again felt the sharp pain in his head, he didn't even bother to look up. In the silence, you could hear the piece of chalk bounce off the desk and onto the floor as it rattled to a stop. Silence for a few seconds, until Mizuki spoke up.

"Nara Shikamaru, detention."

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Shikamaru was the last one to return to the classroom for detention. He scanned the classroom to see the other unfortunate souls who had the honor of getting detention that day. In the front row closest to the door, he saw an all too familiar face. Ino was picking something out of her nails. Right behind her was another blonde. The crazy little boy who was always getting into trouble was fidgeting in his chair as if sitting still was completely impossible. A couple rows behind him sat a quiet little Hyuuga girl who would only lift her head to glance at the blonde boy in front of her then quickly look back down. In the front row on the other side of the classroom a brown haired boy with red facial tattoos sat arms crossed staring at the ceiling.

"Nice of you to grace us with your presence, Shikamaru." Iruka spoke up as he leaned back in the chair at the head of the classroom. He gestured with one arm for Shikamaru to take a seat before placing both hands behind his head. He let out a heavy sigh before standing up and picking up a stack of papers off his desk. He walked around handing each child a paper.

"I expect this to be completed before the time is up." Iruka said as he sat back down.

It didn't take that long before there was a knock at the door. A woman with a questioning look on her face beckoned Iruka to join her in the hall. Iruka excused himself with a threat and exited the classroom.

The door hadn't closed for two seconds before it began. The blonde boy was out of his seat and now tampering with Iruka's chair. The kid with the face tattoos just sat there laughing at him calling him an idiot. Ino stood up from her chair and walked over to Shikamaru. She stared down at him intently until he looked up at her. She smiled at him, spun the chair around and sat down in front of him. She held her head in her hands and her sky blue eyes gazed sharply into his.

Shikamaru watched all the chaos unfold and quite content to remain on the sidelines, but Ino had that mischievous woman look in her eye and she had targeted him.

"So, Shikamaru, what did you do to end up here?"

"I put some cat shit in Mizuki-sensei's bentou!" the blonde boy who had finished booby-trapping Iruka's chair said excitedly as he joined the two.

"I wasn't talking to you, baka. You're annoying." Ino scoffed back.

The blonde boy crossed his arms and began to pout. The boy with face tattoos jumped from his chair and joined the three of them.

"Yeah," he said. "What _did_ you do to get stuck here? I bet it was something wild."

Shikamaru now had three sets of eyes on him. He could see the gears turning behind each set of eyes as they struggled to guess at what deviant act he had committed to warrant this punishment. How troublesome. He wished he had never fallen asleep in class because he would probably be asleep right now. Instead, he was being grilled by three troublesome people. After staring them down for a couple of minutes he realized they weren't going to give up.

"Troublesome……I fell asleep in class." Shikamaru mutter which got different reactions from all three. Ino smirked. The boy with face tattoos scoffed. The blonde boy just stood there looking confused scratching his temple with his left index finger. He was the first to speak up though.

"You mean you actually fell asleep……in class. I can barely sit still in class."

Shikamaru nodded in response and the blonde boy seemed to accept it as an answer. Shikamaru turned to look at Ino who was still smirking. An idea popped into his head and he smirked back at her.

"What?" she questioned innocently.

"What did _you_ do to warrant detention?"

"I….." the blonde boy piped up, but was cut short.

"We already heard!" Ino and the boy with face tattoos shouted.

The blonde boy crossed his arms and began pouting again.

"Its…ok…Naruto-kun." The young Hyuuga girl, whom everyone had pretty much forgotten, had joined them. Three heads had spun to look at her in shock as she began to blush and divert her eyes from their attention. Shikamaru however kept his stare on Ino. He wasn't going to let her out of this so easily.

"Well," he said re-gaining her attention. "What did you do?"

Ino grinned wickedly before answering. "One of the older girls said something to me that I didn't like it. So I punched her in the face." She said the last part calmly while inspecting her finger nails.

Shikamaru grimaced inwardly. Ino would always try to argue with him about something or another, but he never pushed her to the point of violence. Part of him wanted to know what the girl had said so he could avoid such problems in the future, but he thought better of it and left it alone. He did make a mental note to avoid arguments with Ino all together.

"Hey, Kiba," Naruto spoke up. "What did you do?"

The boy with face tattoos gave a big, cheesy smile.

"I got a little _wild_ during shuriken practice and hit Mizuki-sensei with a shuriken. That may be why Iruka-sensei is running detention."

The two boys laughed. Ino feigned a chuckle. The Hyuuga girl began playing with her fingers. Shikamaru hearing Iruka's name checked the door to see if Iruka had returned. When the laughter died down, Ino sighed. Kiba had an inextinguishable itch on his ear. Naruto was beginning to grow antsy.

"This sucks!" Naruto stated flatly. "Let's get out of here."

As if on cue, Ino stood up. "The the best idea I've heard yet."

As quickly as she said it, Naruto had the window open and was leaping outside. He was followed shortly by Kiba who set out a squeal of joy as he did a half-twist through the open window. Ino got a running start and leapt through window with the all the grace of a konoichi. Shikamaru stood up and gave one last look at the door before walking towards the window. He paused half way when he realized that there was one other person still in the room. He turned to look at her. She was staring out the window that everyone else just jumped out of. When she realized he was looking at her she looked down shyly. When she finally looked back up at him, he spoke.

"Why are you here?" he asked with a soft smile.

She stopped fidgeting for a moment as if contemplating the question. She resumed fidgeting shortly thereafter.

After a few seconds she mumbled, "I guess I had nothing better to do."

Shikamaru tilted his head to the side and had a puzzled look on his face. 'She is such a strange girl' he thought to himself. He didn't know if he would ever understand women. They were so fickle. To him, they would probably always be troublesome. He shook his head at the thought.

"We should be going." He stated.

She nodded and began to move towards the window as well.

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Outside, Shikamaru sat on a swing as he observed his surroundings. Naruto and Kiba were playing a rather un-orthodox game of tag. Ino was sitting in the grass behind the Hyuuga girl 'fixing' her hair and telling her things that would only make her smile and blush even harder than she already was. As he watched, he wondered how these ever so troublesome people could somehow manage to get along. He guessed it's just one of those unpredictable things in life.

The fun time was interrupted when Iruka screamed from the window. Everyone froze. When Iruka turned back into the room, Naruto broke the silence.

"Everybody scatter!"

What Naruto ran could not be considered a straight line. It looked more like he was trying to split himself into five and run in different directions at the same time. Kiba leapt over the fence out of sight. Ino stood up, grabbed the Hyuuga girl's hand and hauled her off in the opposite direction of Naruto. The Hyuuga girl seemed disappointed. Shikamaru just stood up, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked home.

When he arrived home, his mother was outside tending to the bushes. He half expected her to be angry with him, but it would be better to show up now than wait until later and get it worse. She surprised him, however, when she smiled at him as he walked through the gate. This was unexpected to say the least. He waved to her in greeting and walked towards the front door. She stopped him when she called out.

"Oi, Shikamaru, how was your day?"

He thought for a moment and that gave her time to move towards him. She paused and removed her gardening gloves as she looked at him with anticipation.

"Troublesome." Was all he said.

Her smile left. She twisted her face at him in curiosity.

"That's it…………..troublesome?"

He sighed. "Just……..troublesome."


	6. Chapter 6

One Year Later

Shikamaru sighed as he looked towards the sky.

In over one year at the academy he had managed to learn very little about how to become a ninja. Most of what he learned about ninja came from observing his father. Alas, the academy had been useful in teaching him other things though.

It helped him further define the word troublesome. Lots of things now fell under that category. For example, writing was troublesome. It took way too much effort and required too much concentration for something he didn't find interesting anyway. Teachers were troublesome because they always tried to make you do troublesome things. Now women, women were even more troublesome than he had ever imagined.

As he observed them in their 'natural' habitat, they seemed to be obsessed with undermining each other at every turn. They argued of petty things to the point of violence. He discovered that they tend to operate in small cells or groups referred to as 'cliques'. They even fought within the groups to which they belonged. All of this was way too troublesome to deal with. It would be best to avoid these situations all together.

Shikamaru sighed again as his eyes dropped from the sky and landed on Iruka who was standing before the group of students sitting on the roof of the Hokage building. Today was history, a subject Shikamaru found completely useless. Why would anyone want to live in the past when they had such a, for the lack of a better term, bright future. How did the saying go? Those who look to the past are bound to repeat it.

Iruka explained drolly about each Hokage as he pointed to each face. When he got to the Third, a loud cough was heard behind Shikamaru and the rest of the children. Heads spun around to find the Third himself standing there. The old man grumble on about "the Will of Fire" and how we need to protect what we love, pausing to cough every so often. Shikamaru wondered to himself how that old man managed to live so long.

When the history lesson was done, Iruka dismissed the class. The girls immediately formed small groups almost as a protective instinct like small animals from a predator. Except in this case the predator was the other groups of girls. Most of the boys made a bolt for the stairs as soon as Iruka dismissed them.

Shikamaru found Chouji standing by himself munching on a bag of barbeque flavored potato chips.

"Mmmm….Shikamaru" Chouji said between bites. "Do you…..think……Sandaime…..is…..as good……as they……say he is?" A fresh handful of chips hit his mouth as he waited for his friend to answer.

"I don't know." Shikamaru said as he looked up at the sky once again. "but somebody had to think he was good for him to become Hokage." Shikamaru turned to his friend.

Chouji just looked at his friend and smiled.

Shikamaru looked around the rooftop. Most of the other students had already dispersed. He looked back at Chouji and said. "Oi, Chouji, you ready to go?"

Chouji nodded and they began to make their way down the steps. When they reached the bottom they were surprised by three boys who were standing waiting for them. One of the three boys yelled "NOW" as they pulled water balloons from behind their backs and threw them at their unsuspecting victims. Chouji got hit with two of them soaking his shirt and knocking the bag a chips out of his hand. Shikamaru deftly cradled the third balloon as he caught it. He turned to look at his friend and he watched as his friend's expression changed from shock to sadness as he looked down at the bag of chips on the floor. He watched his expression change from sadness to anger as he picked the bag of chips off the floor and glared at the boys.

"What you gonna do about it, Fat Ass!" One of the boys teased back.

Shikamaru watched as his friend turned red with anger.

"I am not Fat!" Chouji emphasized each word and crushed the bag of potato chips to add emphasis.

What a troublesome situation, Shikamaru thought to himself. He didn't want to fight and he also didn't want to see his friend get beat up so he came up with a plan.

"I wouldn't mess with him if I were you guys." Shikamaru said as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. This seemed to calm him down a little. "He may be "big", but that's only because he's very strong." It was a bluff, but it caused the boys to stop laughing a look at each other with concern.

Satisfied with the response he got, Shikamaru removed his hand from Chouji's shoulder and tossed the water balloon over his own shoulder with a smirk on his face. He watched the boys' faces go from concern to shear horror. It looked like his bluff worked. Maybe a little too well, he thought as the boys ran away in fear.

He chuckled to himself and smiled big at his accomplishment. The smile was short lived as he felt a presence behind him. The smile drained from his face. He turned slowly and couldn't hide the grimace on his face at what he saw.

The Third was standing there soaked in water. His pipe fizzled with the remnants of wet tobacco. He frowned at the two young boys who were now standing there in shock. He slowly reached his hands out to the boys, but seeing his arms moved caused the two boys to turn and run. As the boys made their escape, the Third smiled as he thought to himself. 'I still got it'

They rounded a corner and Chouji stopped running. Shikamaru stopped and walked back to him. After catching his breath Chouji spoke.

"I think…we almost….died." Chouji said still searching for breath.

Shikamaru still breathing hard himself, his hands on his knees, muttered "troublesome." He leaned against the fence and slid down to the ground. Chouji followed suit and the two boys were just sitting there side by side. Shikamaru leaned his head against the fence and looked up towards the sky. He could still hear his best friend breathing hard next to him and decided not to talk to him. He was surprised when his friend spoke up.

"I don't think Hokage-sama would really kill us."

Shikamaru turned his head just enough so that he could see his friend out of the corner of his eye. He sighed.

"Of course not, Chouji, the Hokage is supposed to protect the village, not kill a couple of troublesome kids."

Chouji nodded and Shikamaru's eyes returned to the sky. After a few minutes of peaceful silence Chouji spoke again.

"Uh….Shikamaru?" Chouji asked trying to get his attention.

Shikamaru grunted in response.

"Do you think _you _could ever be Hokage?" Chouji asked inquisitively.

Shikamaru turned to his friend who was smiling at him blinking at his silence after the question.

"I don't think I'd want to be Hokage." Shikamaru said flatly.

Chouji looked at him confused. "Why not?"

Shikamaru looked at him impassively. "Life's too troublesome as is. Why would I want to make it more?"

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A/N: Short Chapter. I know. I had a migrain while writing and if it sucks let me know and I'll re-write it later.


	7. Chapter 7

One More Year

In his ten years on this earth, Shikamaru had observed many things and learned many other things through what we'll call 'experience'. He knew he was more 'aware' than the other children his age, and for some reason the idea that he was different than most bothered him. If he showed any signs of potential, then people would expect more out of him, and he had resigned himself to staying away from anything he deemed 'troublesome'. That included the expectations the others would put on him.

It was for this reason that he reserved himself to be nothing more than average. It was for this reason that he refrained from the lofty goals and troublesome exploits that a few of his 'comrades' had chosen to pursue. It was for that reason, but not that reason alone, that he fell asleep in class almost every day, especially when it involved as troublesome as writing. And it was for that reason that he found himself after class on this particular day.

The four of them stood there in a line with their backs to the blackboard. Shikamaru smirked as he looked down the line. The boy with face tattoos, Kiba, stood next to him looking as disgruntled with the situation as Shikamaru was, his white haired dog perched aloft his head. To his left was the boisterous blonde idiot, Naruto, who seemed to be the only guy to get in more trouble than he did. Shikamaru had to respect him for that, even if he was troublesome. On the other end of the line, stood Shikamaru's best friend, Chouji, who had ended up getting in trouble this time for bring a picnic to class and then shared said picnic with his new friend, the boisterous blonde that stood to his right.

Iruka-sensei stood in front of the four boys. He scowled as he looked each individual boy in the eyes going down the row until he reached Shikamaru. He then looked at the group as a whole and Shikamaru watched as his scowl changed to a look of sorrow. Was he sorry for us, Shikamaru thought? Did Iruka-sensei really feel sad that he had to scold us? Shikamaru got his answer before he finished the thought. Iruka's face changed again from the look of sorrow to a look of determination.

"You all lack concentration." Iruka said.

Shikamaru knew it wasn't concentration that he lacked. He also knew there was no way he was ever going to tell Iruka-sensei or anyone else for that matter. He was fine with them thinking that he lacked concentration. It was better than them thinking some else about him, something more troublesome.

"You can't become excellent ninja at the rate you are going." Iruka continued.

Kiba interrupted, "I just can't sit still behind a desk all day. Right, Akamaru?"

The dog on his head barked in respose.

Shikamaru couldn't help the yawn that was coming. He didn't even remove his hands from his pockets to cover it.

A loud grumble came from the other end of the row. "I'm hungry." Chouji mumbled as he rubbed his stomach in an effort to quell the hunger.

"Iruka-sensei, please keep your lecture short." Naruto grumbled. The sentiment in his voice echoed the displeasure the other boys were feeling.

"You guys…." Iruka said now finding it hard to hide the anger in his voice. "I'm going to keep you guys after class to work on your concentration."

"What!" all four of the boys exclaimed. Before they could close their mouths, Iruka threw a leaf to each of their foreheads. Shikamaru looked up at the leaf wondering how this was going to help him supposedly strengthen his concentration.

"What's this?" Naruto was the first to voice his thoughts.

"What you're about to do is what generations of Konoha ninja's have practiced to hone their concentration. In this exercise, you will concentrate all your energy on the leaf on your fore head, molding your chakra. It's an old tradition to concentrate on just the leaf so that your mind does not become distracted. Only those ninja who have worked hard on their concentration can become excellent ninja. The Konoha emblem on the Hitai-ite(forehead protector) comes from this practice." Iruka paused for a breath.

Shikamaru thought that it sounded completely made up. Why do adults try to tell him things that he knows aren't true and expect him to believe on faith and trust what they say is true.

Naruto, however, voiced what Shikamaru was thinking. "That sounds _so_ fake."

"Are you just lying to us to try and motivate us?" Shikamaru threw his two cents in.

"It's not fake!" Iruka was now growing even more frustrated. "It's true."

"Are you _really_ able to become an excellent ninja just by working hard on your concentration?" Kiba question more the validity of Iruka's statement rather than the statement itself.

Naruto, sensing the moment, seized control. "An excellent ninja is one who is strong."

"That makes sense." Chouji mumbled still more concerned about the lack of food in his stomach than the actual conversation that was taking place.

Shikamaru looked at Iruka and he could imagine the steam coming out of his ears.

"You guys just don't get it." Iruka said.

"Well, this is what I think of that…" Naruto said. He looked up at the leaf on his forehead before making a gesture of blowing it off.

"Good bye, Sensei." Naruto said as he made a bolt for the window.

Kiba was right on his heels. Shikamaru gave a small shrug before pulling the leaf off his forehead with his hand as fell in behind the other boys. Chouji not wanting to be left out called out as he stumbled to fallow.

"Hey, wait up you guys!"

"Yeah, right. Don't have time for that." Kiba protested as he followed Naruto out the window.

Shikamaru followed Kiba shortly thereafter and Chouji was the last one to clear the windowsill. As they ran off down the street they could hear Iruka scream out the window.

"You ungrateful idiots!"

They all followed Naruto's lead and rounded a corner when they came upon a park. Without much thought, the boys found themselves just having fun playing in the park. Kiba was taking Akamaru down the slide. Chouji was sitting on a swing. Naruto was climbing a structure that was obviously not built to be climbed on. Shikamaru was hanging upside down from the jungle gym.

Shikamaru surveyed the scene with a smile on his face. It was nice to have people who just accepted you, for who you are, people who didn't try to make you into something else.

People you can call friends.


	8. Chapter 8

Eleven

Ah, Clouds. Clouds have a way of just making everything more peaceful. Shikamaru was glad that class was outside today. He could see the clouds clearly now with no obstructions. He dazed-off into his own little cloud world as the class moved seamlessly around him.

The most troublesome things in his life, woman, were a little less troublesome lately. It was probably due to the fact that they "discovered" boys. Apparently there was something about them, some innate 'troublesome' response, the caused them to accost the boys that were lucky enough to fall into their cross hairs.

Of course, Shikamaru had fallen under a few cross hairs much to his chagrin. There were a couple of girls who tried their best to capture his heart which only made the days long and painful for Shikamaru. For the most part, he just ignored them and it seemed to work until one of them took physical action. She was no longer just smothering him verbally and emotionally. He found himself enveloped in a cluster-fuck of arms, legs, hair, and lips. As he pried himself free of her death-grasp-o'-love, he stared at her wide-eyed with a shocked and horrid look on his face. As he looked into her eyes, he almost felt sorry for the girl. He could see the desperation and frustration hidden deep with-in, and most likely, it had been held inside for quite a while considering the fact that it erupted into the recent physical attack. It was like a disease.

However, to Shikamaru, this was more than troublesome. It was downright criminal. He scowled at her for a moment before looking up to see that the brief struggle had drawn a crowd. He slowed down his breathing as he looked across the faces of the crowd. He could see the same look in the attacker's eyes in the eye's of another girl in the crowd. This would happen again if he didn't do something. He looked back down at the girl who attacked him.

"I don't know what has come over you troublesome women, but" he paused a second, closed his eyes, and placed his hands in front of him in a sign of prayer.

"Please……please" he re-opened his eyes and gazed harshly at the attacker and gave a quick glance to the other girl who had fixated on him.

"Just leave me….the hell….alone." He said calmly, but with enough force to get his point across.

This little "outburst", if you could call it that, seemed to do the trick, but it was enough for him to catch hell from his 'friend', Ino, who found it her duty to lecture him on his responsibilities as a man and how, as a man, he should acquiesce to the desires of a woman. He tried to point it out to her that, as a man, he was not required to do so and that women were the more troublesome of the two sexes, but she remained obstinate in her argument. Her pig-headedness led to violent outburst in which she punched him and then stormed away fuming. Shikamaru made a mental note not to argue with Ino anymore. It would only be more troublesome.

For the most part though, the troublesome women kept their distances from him and only approached on occasion to test the wall he had put up. He would just re-assure them that the wall was still standing and they would continue on leaving him alone. Every now-and-then he would catch one of them looking at him and they would turn their heads in embarrassment. At first these little psychological victories felt good to him, but after a while he only did it because he was a man and it was his job to remind them of their place. Somewhere in there, he quit doing it because it, too, was becoming too troublesome. Eventually he noticed that his 'stalkers' had cast their eyes towards someone else.

"Shikamaru……Oi, Shikamaru!"

Hearing his named called snapped him out of his cloud watching. He turned to face the source.

"Shikamaru, you're in the next group. Please, step forward." Iruka said gesturing with two fingers in a circular motion.

Shikamaru stepped forward and joined two of his classmates who were poised waiting for Iruka to instruct them to begin. He bent over and picked up the shuriken that were sitting on the ground. He picked them up and inspected them. They weren't in perfect condition, but they would work for the exercise.

"Ready, start." Iruka said and the other two began throwing.

Shikamaru pulled one from the group and felt its weight in his hand. He spun the shuriken between his thumb and index finger to get a feel for the rotation. He narrowed his eyes at the target and tossed the first shuriken. It struck the post just a few centimeters right of center. He rolled his shoulder as if trying to work something out. He repeated the process with the next shuriken and it hit its target.

Satisfied that he hit the target and not wanting to stand out too much, he hap-hazard-ly threw the remaining shuriken in the direction of the target letting them fall where they may. One actually hit the post he was supposedly aiming at. Two fell short of reaching their 'intended' target as most just whizzed by and ended up in the fence. The last one stuck in one of the posts the other kids were throwing at. This caused Iruka to wince.

Shikamaru just shoved his hands in his pockets and walked to the side to allow the next group to continue the exercise. He ignored the look of disappointment that Iruka gave him and allowed his eyes to return to the sky. The clouds were unusually active today passing each other in opposite directions as if two fronts were passing colliding and ricocheting in random directions.

He didn't know how long he'd been looking at the clouds, but his thoughts were interrupted once again as he heard loud cheers and whistles.

"Way to go, Sasuke-kun" one of the troublesome women yelled.

Shikamaru watched as every shuriken he threw hit its target. Who knew the melancholy little boy who was always brooding, was a 'genius'. He was quieter than Shikamaru, but was he just hiding the fact that he's a kick-ass shinobi. Maybe he believed in himself or maybe he was over-achieving, but he was definitely making a run for the top of the class.

"You're the best, Sasuke-kun. Will you go out with me?" the one who had assaulted Shikamaru earlier in the year called out.

So she's finally moved on, Shikamaru thought. Good thing because with all this ninja training, I was afraid she was going to kill me if I didn't reciprocate her feelings. And it wasn't just his ex-stalker who was swooning over Sasuke; it was pretty much every girl in the class. Even some of the boys were singing his praises. All of this seemed to annoy Sasuke, as he shook off the hugs and kiss from the mob of fan girls.

Shikamaru empathized with the guy. He even felt pity for him. Shikamaru at most only had to deal with two troublesome girls. Sasuke now has a mob. Shikamaru wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy. Although, maybe he'd wish it on his best friend, he thought as he watched Chouji across the yard, munching on chips, and taking in the sight that was the mob. Chouji seemed to be the only one who hasn't been mobbed by an obsessed fan. That lucky bastard.

"Yosh! Everyone line up." Iruka broke up the tawdry display of affection.

All of the girls were waiting to see where Sasuke would line up so they could be next to him. When Sasuke took his spot in the line, the mob began quarrel, begging and pushing to get a spot next to him. This did not go un-noticed by the frustrated Iruka.

"Girls on the left, boys on the right." Iruka said.

The girls let out a collective, "awe!?!"

Shikamaru took a couple of steps and claimed the spot at the end of the line when Sasuke walked over and took position next to him. When everything had settled down, Iruka began explaining the next exercise, but Shikamaru didn't care. His eyes turned towards the sky again, but he couldn't help think about the plight of his fellow 'man'. He turned to Sasuke who was actually paying attention to what Iruka said.

"Oi, Sasuke." Shikamaru whispered to get his attention.

Sasuke turned to look at him with a scowl on his face. Shikamaru didn't think anything of it. He continued.

"Don't let them get you down, man. I know they're troublesome, but if you establish your position they leave you alone."

Sasuke closed his eyes as he 'hmph'-ed and turned his head away in disgust.

'What a prick' Shikamaru thought. 'I was just trying to help a fellow guy who you would think would show a little appreciation due to mutual disgust and understanding. What do those girls even see in this guy.'


	9. Chapter 9

Graduation Day

Sigh. The day had come. Shikamaru had put off thinking about graduating because, well, just thinking about it was troublesome. It meant a change was going to take place in his life and a number of troublesome things would haunt him on a daily basis. It meant people were going to start requiring things of him. It meant they're expectations of him would rise the more he did these things. If he wanted to make enough money to live a normal life he would have to do what needed to be done. He didn't really have a problem with doing the work; it was just the fact that people would expect him to be something that really bothered him. Maybe he could pull it off. Maybe he could life a 'normal' shinobi life.

He chuckled to himself, laughing at his own thoughts, 'a shinobi living a normal life'. The word shinobi itself implied a mystique of an abnormal and difficult nature.

"Nara Shikamaru," he thoughts were interrupted by Mizuki who was standing in the doorway. "You're next."

He opened his eyes and looked towards the door to see Mizuki waving for him to follow. He nodded to him in response as he stood up to follow him. They walked out of the classroom and down the hallway to another classroom. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he stood in front of a table that Iruka was sitting behind. Mizuki went to join Iruka at the table. Iruka looked up from the paper on the table to meet Shikamaru's lethargic gaze.

"Today's exam is the _bunshin no jutsu_. You need to make three successful clones in order to pass." Iruka said. "You may begin when you're ready." Iruka picked up a pencil that was sitting next to the paper he was looking at earlier and looked as if he was ready to mark Shikamaru's scores.

Shikamaru seemed to be staring blankly off into space. One would have thought that he had pretty much ignored Iruka until his eyebrow perked in thought. Maybe if he did just enough to get by he would be able to live normally, comfortably. He tilted his head to the side as this internal debate dragged on in his mind. He would never know if he never tried. He could always quit later; he reasoned to himself. Might as well give it go. Sigh.

He straightened his stance and removed his hands from his pockets. He brought his hands up to his chest and paused for a second to think clearly about what he was about to do. Then he moved, thinking the seals to himself as he formed them. _Tori. I, Ushi, Inu._ He held the last seal in front of him as he felt his chakra mixing inside.

"_Bunshin no Jutsu_." Shikamaru mumbled as he released the technique.

Poof! Poof! Poof! Three clones appeared, two to his right and one to his left. The one far to his right was suppressing a yawn. The one next to him was rubbing a knot out of the back of his neck. Shikamaru just shrugged as he put his hands back in his pockets. The one to his left followed suit as he turned to look at the clouds outside the window.

Iruka began making marks on the paper. After a few seconds, he was satisfied with the marks he wrote down and looked back up at Shikamaru. Shikamaru clasped his hands together in an upward arrow and released the technique. Three tufts of smoke rolled away from him towards the door which let Shikamaru know that there was a slight draft in the room.

Shaking the thought from his head, he looked back at Iruka.

"Yoshi, you passed." Iruka said with a hint of enthusiasm. "Now come here and get your hitai-ite."

Shikamaru stepped forward and eyed the rows. They were all the same. There was no significant difference among them, at least, as far as he could tell. He looked over to Iruka to see if there was a particular one he was supposed to take.

Iruka saw the questioning look on his face. "Just pick one."

Shikamaru pulled his right hand out of his pocket and stretched it towards the table. He wrapped his hand around the closest one to it, lifted it off the table, and let his hand fall to his side. Mizuki stood up and escorted him to the door.

"Congratulations." Muzuki said as he slid the door open. "You may re-join the other students in the classroom." He said pointing down the hall.

Shikamaru nodded and began walking down the hall. When he arrived at the door to the classroom, he paused. He looked down at the hitai-ite in his hand. Not quite sure of what to do with it, he placed it in his pants pocket. Sigh. He reached for the door.

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When they were dismissed, the most excited ones were the first to rush out the academy doors. They were followed shortly thereafter by the pretty excited ones. Then those were followed by the ones that were just plain excited. Then there was Shikamaru who didn't look excited. He was followed by the few who failed and were the complete opposite of excited. There were parents everywhere who were overly excited for their excited children, except for the few whose children did not pass.

Then there was the one kid who didn't have parents. The blonde boy just sat on the sing in the academy yard. Shikamaru thought that the boy looked depressed. Maybe the boy didn't have any talent, but that wasn't for Shikamaru to decide. The sensei's had made their decision.

"There's my boy!" an excited voice called from behind Shikamaru. Shikamaru knew the voice. It was the voice that scolded him daily and haunted his dreams. He turned around and confirmed that it was indeed his mother.

"Well, son, how'd you do." She was joined by his father.

Shikamaru glanced down at his pocket as he pulled out his hitai-ite just enough for his parents to see. His parents followed his gaze to his pocket. Yoshino squealed in joy.

"My baby boy is growing up so fast." Yoshino fawned as she held one hand to her chest and with the other, dried a tear from her eye.

"You passed." Shikaku said as if he was surprised that his son actually tried to pass.

Shikamaru just shrugged and shoved the hitai-ite back in his pocket. He turned his head and looked at his classmates who were celebrating with their parents. A hand struck the back of his head.

"Baka! You should be happy that you graduated." Yoshino snapped at her son. Shikamaru was amazed at how fast she could change emotions. And just like that, she was happy again.

"Ooo, I'm gonna make a special dinner tonight in celebration." Yoshino giggled in joy as her mind raced through her 'special' recipies. "I'm going to the market to pick stuff for dinner. You boys go home and get the house ready. It's a celebration!"

Yoshino hugged her son much to his chagrin and kissed her husband before heading off to the market. Shikamaru began looking around again.

Shikaku coughed. "Let's go, son. I've got something to teach you."

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Shikamaru stood in front of the mirror in the living room. He studied himself intently. He turned his head from one side to the other checking his reflection from the corners of his eyes. He tilted his head in a look of curiosity then looked down at the hitai-ite in his hands. Slowly, he raised it up to his forehead and pulled the straps around his head. When his hands reached the back of head he frowned in disappointment. His ponytail was in the way.

He tried to tie the straps under the ponytail, but the hitai-ite just slid down over her eyes. He frowned again. He thought about putting it around his neck, but he had seen women do that and he was no woman. Sigh.

"Shikamaru, yo," Shikaku mumbled as he walked up behind his son. "Outside."

Shikaku turned and walked towards the side door. Shikamaru's focus returned to his reflection in the mirror. He saw the questioning looking on his own face and shrugged. He turned towards the door his father walked through and started to make his way, but stopped. He walked back to the mirror and looked at himself again. He wrapped the Hitai-ite around his left bicep and looked again. He gave a small smirk before turning towards the door once again.

Outside, Shikaku stood in the yard, gazing up at the sky. Shikamaru walked out and stood in front of him. After a moment, Shikaku looked down at his son.

"Now that you're officially a ninja, I can tell about our clan secret."

This piqued Shikamaru's interest. His clan had a secret. Was it something interesting? Was it something evil? Shikamaru raised his eyebrows at thought and Shikaku took it as a cue to continue.

"Our clan has a secret technique that has been handed down from generation to generation for over a hundred years."

Shikamaru let a small smirk slip. His father was going to teach him a secret technique that was known only to his clan. Shikaku gave a small smirk back.

"It's called _Kage Shibari_. It's a technique that allows the user to bind the target with his shadow." Shikaku said as he stood up straight and pointed the index and middle fingers of his left hand towards the sky. Shikamaru watched as his father's darkened and began to wiggle. It then shot out in a straight line towards him. Then he felt his body get rigid. Shikamaru tried to move, but couldn't.

"_Kage Shibari no Jutsu_" Shikaku said as he raised his arms above his head causing Shikamaru to do the same. Shikamaru felt his body move against his control and it scared him. Shikaku could see the frightened look in his son's eyes. He returned his arms to his side forcing Shikamaru to do the same. Then both men squatted down and Shikaku looked his son in his eyes and tilted his head to make him look at the ground. Both men watched as Shikaku's shadow returned to him.

Shikamaru felt as though life had returned to him. He started moving parts of his body to make sure he had control of his own body. He lost his balance and almost fell, but caught himself by dropping one knee to the ground.

"The hand seals are: _Inu, I, Tatsu, Mi, Hitsuji, Tori, and Ne._ Practice it enough and you can do it with just the _Ne_. When you get the feel for it you can do it by molding the chakra without seals. That's how we keep it a secret." Shikaku told his son in a quiet whisper. "Now you try."

Shikamaru formed the seals in order calling them out in his head. When he finished held the first two fingers of his left hand up and wrapped his right hand around them. He could feel his chakra mixing. When he felt like it was enough, he focused on his shadow and imagined it extending from him.

He watched as his shadow darkened and slowly creep away from him towards his father. When it connected with his father's shadow, it felt like a physical reaction in his body as if the shadow was an extension of him. Shikamaru pulled his hands apart, but his shadow stayed connected. His father stood up with him.

A small smirk played across Shikamaru's face. He lifted his hands above his head which forcing his father to do the same. He pointed his hands towards his head and spread his feet apart.

"Tou-san, you have no idea how funny you look right now." Shikamaru laughed.

"Yes, I do. Cause I'm looking at the same thing." Shikaku chuckled in retort.

Shikamaru smirked again. Shikamaru felt his shadow return to him and he returned to his normal slump. His father let his hands fall to his side.

"If it causes the target to mimic the user than why don't they call it _kage mane_." Shikamaru asked inquisitively.

Shikaku groaned as he massaged his temples with his fingers. "That's just what they've always called it."

Shikamaru thought to himself for a moment.

"Well, from now on I'm going to call it _kage mane_."


	10. Chapter 10

A:N Yeah, Sorry guys, I haven't updated in my usually, timely fasion. No excuses really, I was just being a lazy ass bastard. You can lynch me later. So to make it up to you here is a new chapter. I only hope it quells your anger.

Team Ten

"Say Cheese!" the photographer said as he ducked his head under the clothe.

Shikamaru yawned.

Click.

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"Hmmm" the Sandaime Hokage grumbled as he looked at the boy sitting in the chair across the room. "At least I can see your face." That was more than he could say for some of the other rookie genin. He wondered to himself whether or not this generation would be able to make it. They all seemed to have their individual set of issues that needed to be worked out and wondered if the jounin he had selected would be fit for the task.

Sigh. He looked at the rookie sitting lazily sitting in the chair and staring out the window. The boy turned back to look at him and just shrugged. The Sandaime started stroking his beard in thought. Maybe his prodigal son could find a way to light a fire under this boys ass.

"Your Nara Shikaku's son, ne?"

The boy just nodded in response.

"Hmmm" the Sandaime pondered again. He was from one of the secret clans of Konoha. The Sandaime shuffled through some of the papers on his desk. He found the two that he was looking for. Yes, two of the other genin that had graduated this year were also from secret clans. If his memory served him correctly, twenty-five years ago, he had placed their fathers in a team together and they had become one of his most trusted teams. A small smile crept on to his face as he dipped his brush into some ink and made a few marks on a page.

"The explanatory meeting will be held on the fifteenth. Be at the academy that morning in room 103."

The boy nodded again.

"Dismissed" the Sandaime said with a small wave of the hand.

The boy stood up, shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way to the door.

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The morning of the explanatory meeting had come. Shikamaru rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he walked down the halls of the academy. It was disgusting to wake this early in the morning for a lecture. He wondered if he could stay awake through the whole meeting. He removed his hands from his eyes to see the sign above the door. RM 103. He stretched with his arms high above his head and twisted his neck to the side until he heard it pop. He let quick shiver before his body returned to a slouched position. His hand reached up and slid the door open and he entered the room.

He gave the room a quick scan to see that only thirteen people have arrived yet. He let a smirk hit his lips as he thought. 'Not too early, Not too late.' He was right in the middle, just normal, the way he wanted to be. He looked around for an open seat and he spotted one in the middle of the classroom and began to make his way down the steps towards it when something abnormal caught his eye.

"Hey, what are you doing here? This meeting is for those who graduated." Shikamaru questioned the young man seated at a desk next to him.

"I did graduate. Don't you see this?" Naruto said raising a hand and pointing with his thumb to the hitai-ite wrapped around his forehead.

Shikamaru took a step back. Partially because of what the boy said, but mostly because of the volume at which the boy spoke.

"It looks good on me. Don't you think?" Naruto questioned.

Shikamaru couldn't help a smile as he looked at the crazy boy. So the little bastard actually passed. He must have done something really incredible to make Iruka change his mind. Maybe this guy had some raw potential that no one else could see.

Shikamaru thought process was interrupted when he heard the classroom door fly open and two girls burst in and screamed 'goal'.

'Troublesome is here' Shikamaru thought as he brought his left hand out of his pocket and cradled his forehead.

When Naruto's attention turned to them, Shikamaru made his escape. He walked around the front of the classroom and made his way back up the next aisle and found an empty seat in the last row. He sat down and rested his head in his right hand as he watched the troublesome events unfold.

Iruka entered the classroom and broke up the scuffle. Naruto looked beaten and bruised. He felt sorry for Naruto. He would have to give him some tips on how to deal with troublesome women. And even though he didn't really like Sasuke, he felt sorry for him as well. It seemed no matter how much of a dick he was to the girls, those troublesome women just wouldn't leave him alone.

"Ohayou, Shikamaru." Ino said as she took the seat next to him.

To the casual observer, it would have seemed like a sweet tone. Shikamaru, however, could hear the subtle under tone of disgust. Ino and he had been 'forced' friends for as far back as he can remember. He did really like her either, mainly because she was a loud, manipulative bitch, but that went without saying.

"Ohayou, Ino." Shikamaru replied with an equally disgusted under tone. He only spoke to her because he knew he would catch hell from his mom if he didn't.

"Yoshi, every one of you are now genin." Iruka broke the heavy air. "We are going to separate you all into teams of three. I will announce the teams now and this afternoon you will meet with your jounin senseis."

"I wonder who will end up on Sasuke's team?" Shikamaru heard Ino whisper. He looked at her and saw that her question was not directed to him but to the pink haired girl sitting in front of them.

"Yes, I wonder who will." the pink haired girl threw over her shoulder.

Shikamaru could feel the rage building in Ino.

"...team 7, Uzumaki Naruto.....Hanuro Sakura..." Iruka continued.

"Yeah" Shikamaru heard Naruto yell and he saw the pink haired girl slump forward in visible disappointment.

"...and Uchiha Sasuke..."

"Yeah" Shikamaru heard the pink haired girl squeal this time and saw Naruto visibly slump this time.

The pink haired girl turned around to look at Ino and threw up two fingers in victory.

Ino 'hmmph"-ed in anger as she turned her head away.

"....team 8, Hyuuga Hinata...." Iruka continued.

Shikamaru turned and gave Ino a look that held both disgust and confusion equally.

"Why do girls even like a guy like him?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino's attitude shifted as her attention moved to him. " Your don't know that? That's why nobody likes you."

"Of course I don't know. I'm not a girl." Shikamaru stated matter-of-factly.

"I wouldn't want to end up on a team with a guy like you." Ino emphasized the 'you' as she waved a finger in the air.

Shikamaru smirked at her as she basked in her own little social 'victory'.

"...team 10, Nara Shikamaru..." Iruka caught his attention. "...Yamanaka Ino..."

"Looks like you have to be on a team with me." Shikamaru chuckled at his own little social 'victory'.

"...and Akamichi Chouji."

Shikamaru watched as Ino's head fell into her hands as if her whole world was collapsing around her. Shikamaru, on the other hand was happy Chouji was on his team. At least he had an ally and someone he could trust. He wasn't sure if Ino would undercut him for her own personal gain.

"That's all the teams. Now let's break for lunch and then you'll meet your jounin sensei when you come back this afternoon." Iruka dismissed the children.

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Shikamaru caught up with Chouji outside the classroom. They quickly fell into step and proceeded to the exit. Shikamaru looked at Chouji and nodded. Chouji grunted in response as his mouth was occupied with chips. The conversation they just had would go un-noticed by any on-looker, but Shikamaru had forgotten to bring lunch and Chouji knew he had brought more than enough. The two simply agreed that they would share lunch together.

Ino caught up to the two boys as they exited the building.

"So….what's for lunch…guys?" Ino asked. Disgust plastered on her face.

Shikamaru raised a skeptical eye towards her. Chouji just gave her a food filled grin.

"Well…if we're going to be a team…" Ino gulped. "We should at least… have lunch together."

Shikamaru just shrugged. It seemed logical even if it came from Ino.

"Well, I brought a picnic." Chouji said now grinning ear to ear.

"Wonderful" Ino let out exasperatedly, but still gave Chouji a weak smile.

The motley crew made their way to a secluded balcony a couple of blocks away. Chouji opened the bag he was carrying and set the 'picnic'. Shikamaru took the initiative and selected a rice ball that Chouji had placed closest to Shikamaru. Ino saw Shikamaru move and selected a rice ball of her own. She nodded in thanks to Chouji and Chouji just smiled back to her in response.

After a few minutes, Ino broke the silence. "So are you guys ready to be ninja, or what?"

Shikamaru just shrugged and continued eating. Chouji on the other hand, began to look excited.

"My father taught me our clan's secret technique! I can't wait to do some real ninja work." Chouji barked out.

Ino looked a little surprised. "So maybe you have some talent. I can work with that." Ino held an index finger to her chin as if deep in thought. "My dad also taught me our clan's secret technique."

Shikamaru let out a small chuckle which didn't go un-noticed by Ino.

"What's so funny?" Ino asked staring at Shikamaru.

"I understand now why they put _US_ together." Shikamaru said pointedly.

Ino tilted her head to the side questioningly.

"We all come from clans with secret techniques. They probably assume that our techniques will complement each other."

Ino gave a quick smile and a turn of the head as she went back to her rice ball. After swallowing the bite she had taken, she spoke up.

"Well as long as we're together, you guys are going to do what I say." She said the last part with a firmer tone.

Shikamaru knew that even though Ino wasn't looking directly at him, the statement was surely directed towards him. Ino and he have long since had a difference of opinion, and he knew that Chouji would just go along with whatever Ino said anyway.

"Hai, hai." Shikamaru let out with a little disgust. 'I don't want to get into an argument with Ino' Shikamaru justified it to himself.

"We should go eat barbeque sometime." Chouji added hi two-cents to the conversation.

Shikamaru had just finished his rice ball when movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

"Naruto?" Shikamaru mumbled as he watched the blonde boy sneak across the rooftop across the street. His teammates turned to see what he was staring at.

"What's Naruto doing?" Ino asked as she leaned over the railing and used her hand as a visor to get a better view.

Naruto snuck to a window where Sasuke was standing and jumped through the window to attack him. When he did the window fell shut and left the three members of team ten sitting there with dumbfound looks on their faces.

When the window opened again, Sasuke jumped out and walked away.

"Looks like Naruto got beat instead." Shikamaru stated the obvious.

"Of course, there's no way Sasuke could get beat." Ino felt compelled to inform him.

Shikamaru just shook his head. Why was she so obsessed with that guy?

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That afternoon, in the classroom, it didn't take long for Shikamaru's eyelids to grow so heavy that his body could no longer support the weight of his head. Just before his head hit the desk, he could remember the last words that rolled through his head. 'Sensei will be here soon.'

He was awakened by a nudge from Chouji. He yawned and looked at his best friend who just pointed towards the front of the classroom.

"Our sensei's here." Chouji said as he stood up and began to walk to the front. Shikamaru stood up and plodded after him.

Their sensei was a tall man who towered over most of the other villagers. He had a chinstrap beard that came to a point at the tip of his chin. He wore the standard ninja gear for a Konoha jounin. He had large wooden bracelets that were painted to match his uniform. He wore a dirty white sash that had the symbol for the fire country on it. Lastly, he held an extinguished cigarette between his teeth as he smiled at the three young ninja standing before him.

"Team ten?" he asked.

"Hai!" Ino answered enthusiasticly.

Their sensei looked down at them and scratched his cheek. "Follow me."

Their sensei took them down to the end of a hall and motioned for them to sit on the bench there.

The three young ninja sat on the bench and observed their sensei eagerly. The setting sun cast a ray of light through the window that landed at his feet. Most of his body was obscured by the shadow which gave him an ominous presence. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket, ignited it and re-lit the previously extinguished cigarette.

"My name is Sarutobi Asuma," he said as he stepped forward into the light. "and from now on I going to be hard on you guys."

He was greeted with a chorus of coughs and cries.

"Awe, come on, all I said was that I was going to hard on you."

"It's not that, it's your stupid smoke that's getting into our eyes." Shikamaru was the first to recover.

Asuma just chuckled as he bumped the ash of the end of the cigarette.

"So now that you know who I am, I would like to find out who you are." He said pointing at the boy who spoke up.

"Nara Shikamaru" the kid stated.

"Hmm." He scratched his chin. "Next" he said pointing at the girl in the middle.

"Yamanaka Ino"

"Ok," he was now stroking his beard. "And the last one."

"Akamichi Chouji", which was partially distorted by an abundance of chips.

Asuma rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and sighed.

"Well, it was nice meeting you guys. I want you to be at the Twenty-first training at eight in the morning." He said and turned to walk away.

"Hey, don't you want to know more about us?" Ino more demanded than asked.

Asuma paused and turned around. "We'll find out tomorrow." He turned to walk away again but paused and threw over his shoulder. "Oh, and don't be late." That being said, he walked away with a trail of smoke following him down the hallway.

Ino just sat there with her jaw dropped open. The three sat in what would have been complete silence except for the ruffling of an aluminum bag and munching of chips.

"hmmph" Shikamaru broke the not-so silence.

"What?!" Ino shouted half surprised and half curious.

"Explaining it to you would be too troublesome."


	11. Chapter 11

The Test

They called him a lot of things. Some of them were true and others were misguided. Shikamaru could understand though why they called him these things. It was human nature to place people into certain classifications. Although, Shikamaru felt that he himself was too complex to be strictly classified as one thing or the other, he didn't mind it too much because it made him appear normal and that's what he himself was striving for.

They called him sexist because of the opinionated comments he made about woman. He agreed with this assumption mainly because he didn't like women. Even though, as far back as he can remember, his mother had drilled into him the responsibilities he would have to undertake as a man regarding women. It's not that he really hated them, in fact he was starting to feel a strange 'attraction' towards them that he could not logically explain. When he asked his father about it, his father told him that he was just growing up and that in time he would discover what that 'attraction' was. This only frustrated Shikamaru more. With this strange confusion brewing inside him, he decided to keep his distance and observe when it came to women.

They called him stupid because of his lack of 'social' understanding. Shikamaru was just pretty sure they were mad. No sane person could begin to comprehend their insane societal rules, while Shikamaru thought that he himself was the epitome of sane. Everything logical made sense to him while the crazy, insane garbage that people accused him of being too stupid to understand would baffle even some of the greatest minds.

They called him lazy because he would complain when people would try to force him to do something and say that when they needed him he was always laying around watching clouds somewhere. The truth was Shikamaru was far from lazy. He just didn't see why he would have to waste his time and/or money and/or effort to accomplish some pointless task that the troublesome people were trying to con him into doing. The only reason he was off watching clouds while they were looking for him, was to clear his mind of all the troublesome thoughts that they had put there in the first place.

Ok, Shikamaru will admit that he is, albeit, a little bit lazy. Just a little. But his unwillingness to over-exert himself at the whims of his comrades could be misconstrued as complete laziness. He knew, however, that if he really wanted to do something, he would do it whole-heartedly.

Now, he found himself standing, with his best friend and his most troublesome one, in center of the twenty-first training ground waiting on their new sensei to arrive. The three of them had mixed expressions anywhere from excitement to frustration to disgust. Shikamaru, however, was worried by something their sensei had said the day before.

"We'll probably end up going back to the academy." Shikamaru broke the silence.

"huh" Chouji mumbled through the breakfast he had been munching on.

"What do you mean?" Ino asked more angry than inquisitive.

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders. "Asuma-sensei didn't take the time to find out anything about us. If I was going to be working with someone for a while I would at least try to find out more about them. I think they're going to test us again."

"Well he did ask us our names, maybe he knows us from our registration forms?" Chouji interjected.

"You can't tell about a person from what someone else wrote on a paper." Ino retorted before turning her attention back to Shikamaru. "What do you mean 'test us again'?"

Shikamaru shrugged again. "They probably want to see how we would do in a real world experience before officially making us genin. That's probably why we're meeting at the training ground."

Ino wrinkled her nose in frustration. "You don't know anything, Shikamaru."

Chouji groaned in disappointment most because the breakfast he just ate was not enough to quell his hunger.

"Yoshi, quiet down. It's too early to be yelling like that." Asuma called out as he approached the three would-be ninja.

"Asuma-sensei" Ino called out as all three turned to meet him. "What are we doing here, is it something important?"

"You could say that." Asuma chuckled as he skillfully tapped on cigarette out of his pack and caught it between his lips. After lighting and taking a long drag, he spoke again.

"You have already proven that you are _worthy_ of becoming genin by graduating from the academy. Today, we're going to find out if you really have what it takes to officially become genin."

"Told you" Shikamaru mumbled under his breath towards Ino, which earned him a quick punch in the shoulder and a menacing glare.

Asuma rubbed the back of his head. 'They're already fighting amongst themselves' he thought.

"Listen up, of the twenty-seven of you that graduated on three teams or nine of you will become official genin. The rest will return to the academy for further training.'" He gave them a few moments for his words to sink in. Surprisingly, they appeared to expect that from him.

"So, what do we have to do?" Ino questioned shyly, borderline flirtatious.

Asuma's cheeks turned a light shade of red as he defensively rubbed the back of his head. He put his hand in front of his mouth and coughed to regain his composure. He reached in to his flack vest and pulled out an envelope.

"This envelope contains an official genin certificate. Your object will be to obtain this envelope and the one that does will move on to missions as an official genin." Asuma paused to take another drag of his cigarette.

"So you mean that only one of us will become a genin." Chouji groaned. "That's not fair."

"Life's not fair." Asuma responded lightly. "You can use your ninja tools, and quite frankly,you're going to need them if you ever expect to get the envelope from me."

Asuma looked across the faces of the three young ninja and saw that each one had a different expression. Chouji looked disappointed. Ino looked very determined. But Shikamaru on the other hand, looked bored out of his mind. 'There's something about that kid' Asuma thought. All of the other genin he received in the past had some sort of dramatic reaction to this realization, but Shikamaru looked as if his mind was elsewhere.

"Ok, you have until noon to get the envelope from me. That leaves us about three and a half hours." Asuma readied himself. "Ready…begin."

Asuma jumped backwards into the woods. In pulled a kunai out of her pouch and reversed it in her hand.

"I'm going to get that envelope." As she jumped off into the woods in pursuit of their sensei.

Shikamaru and Chouji just stood there for a minute. Chouji looked at Shikamaru as if asking what he should do.

"It's troublesome, Chouji, but we might as well try." He shrugged to his friend who nodded in reply.

Shikamaru stretched for a minute leaning far to each side and bending over forward as if he was stretching for a long distance run. When he felt as if every muscle that he would possibly used had been thoroughly stretched he let out a long yawn before jumping off into the woods to his left.

"_Mate yo_" Chouji cried as he leapt off after his friend.

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Ino was the first one to catch up with Asuma. Asuma was wondering how long it would take them to find him and fifteen minutes after he started this ordeal, he got his answer.

Ino jumped down from a tree a few meters in front of him kunai in hand. Her look of determination had only grown stronger during her pursuit. As Asuma stood there nonchalantly, as if he didn't see her as a threat, her determination boiled into anger. 'How dare he take me lightly' she thought. 'I was the best konoichi in my class. I'm a woman to be feared.' She let her anger turn to rage as she charged at him with her full force.

Asuma just side stepped her and she flew right by him when she lunged. She fell to the ground, but quickly recovered into a ready position.

"You're going to have to do better than that." Asuma chuckled as he looked down on the furious konoichi.

"Get bent" she snarled back at him. "I am_ going_ to get that envelope."

'She's never going to get it if she doesn't learn to control that temper and that mouth of hers' Asuma thought to himself.

She lunged at him again. This time Asuma didn't dodge her attack, but slid a knuckle blade from his sleeve, caught it, and parried her attack with ease. This carried on for a couple of minutes and the more energy Ino put into her attack the more she became frustrated by the fact that her attacks were pointless. Her frustration reached a peak and she hopped back to assess the situation.

Close combat wasn't working so it was time to switch to distance combat. She flipped the kunai around in her hand and took her aim. She let it fly, but Asuma just deflected it with his blade. The kunai spun around in the air, until he caught it and hurled it back at her. She dogged it by rolling to her right and when she popped back up she quickly let two shuriken fly followed shortly by a third. Asuma just deflected the three shuriken as easily as he deflected the kunai earlier.

Shikamaru could hear the clash of metal in the distance and knew immediately that someone had found their sensei. He approached cautiously as he knew that jumping into direct combat would be the bad choice. When he got close enough, he jumped into the trees to get a better view of the situation.

Ino had had enough. This man was showing her no respect and he was too strong to be taken down by ninja tools. She would need to make a big move. She knelt down on the forest floor, her head pointed towards the ground as she quickly made hand seals. She brought her hands up in front of her in the shape of a box as she raised her head. _Shintenshin no Jutsu._

Asuma jumped up to a tree branch as she spoke the words. Her body fell limp to the forest floor. Asuma shook his head. She let desperation overcome her and made a bad decision. He dropped back down to ground level and walked over to her. He picked up her body and propped it up against a tree.

Shikamaru watched the events unfold in front of him. Asuma was too strong. At no point did he show any signs of a weakness or any openings. Shikamaru knew there was no way he would be able to take this man head on. He would have to wait and look for an opening. He saw Asuma turn his head away from the girl he just laid against the tree to look over his shoulder in Shikamaru's direction.

'Oh, shit' Shikamaru thought. 'He found me.'

Silence. Asuma turned around to face his direction. Shikamaru froze. He knows he should retreat, but something in Asuma eyes told Shikamaru that he hadn't quite located him yet. That's when he heard it.

_Baika no Jutsu. Nikudan Sensha_

Shikamaru looked directly beneath him. His best friend had found their location and had brought himself out in the open. 'Not a smart move, Chouji' Shikamaru thought. He watched his friend's body expand to two times its normal size. Then he saw as he pulled each of his limbs as well as his head. Then his friend's swollen body began to roll. He rolled with so much force that the earth beneath him was being thrown behind him a good six or seven meters.

Asuma leapt to his right and Chouji changed direction to follow in pursuit clipping a tree in the process. Shikamaru was amazed at the sheer power his friend displayed. A bunch of loud cracking sounds were followed by a humongous thud as the tree fell. The tree he was sitting in was still shaking as he watched Chouji chase their sensei around the forest floor.

When Asuma jumped into a tree to dodge Chouji, Shikamaru saw his opportunity. Asuma's back was turned to him and his concentration was on Chouji who was now reversing direction and picking up speed. When Chouji took to the air, Shikamaru launched his attack. One kunai followed by two shuriken flew at Asuma's back.

Poof. His attack had struck a log. Shikamaru had not only failed in his attack but had given away his position. Damn it. Chouji ripped the branch that only seconds earlier was holding Asuma. He landed on the ground. Poof. Chouji doubled over clutching his stomach.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Chouji muttered.

Shikamaru jumped down to join his friend. Kunai drawn, he checked the surrounding area to look for any signs of Asuma. When he was sure there were no signs, he turned and helped his friend to his feet.

"We need to re-group." Shikamaru said to his best friend who looked like he was about to vomit.

Shikamaru walked over to the girl Asuma had left leaning against a tree and hoisted her up over his shoulder. 'Troublesome' he muttered as he and Chouji walked off in no particular direction.

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Shikamaru and Chouji sat hidden in a row of hedges that lined the edge of the forest. An unconscious girl lay at their side.

"I don't think it can be done." Chouji whispered to Shikamaru.

"No, none of us are strong enough to beat him. I give up. I'll just go back to the academy." Shikamaru said.

Chouji's stomach growled. "I'm still hungry."

"Well, I'm going to get that envelope no matter what." An awakened Ino said firmly.

"Ino, you're awake." Chouji gasped.

"Of course I'm awake." Ino smack him up-side his head.

"Ino, there's no way you'll get that envelope." Shikamaru stated. "He's too strong for any of us. I'm just going to give up."

"Oh, I am definitely going to get it and you two are going to help me!" she said as she grabbed both boys by the ears. "You got me."

"Owe, owe, owe!"

"Hai, hai…..troublesome."

"Good, now we just have to find him again." Ino said standing up rubbing the dirt that had collected on her hands on Shikamaru's jacket.

Shikamaru groaned in disgust.

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When they found Asuma he was lighting another cigarette and looking up at the sky. Shikamaru looked up at the sky, too. The sun was getting high and their window to complete their objective was growing shorter. The three of them remained hidden behind a line of trees so that Asuma would know they're location.

"Yoshi, on three we all jump out and attack at the same time." Ino whispered.

"No, that won't work." Shikamaru said. "The man shows no opening."

"Well, you come up with a better plan then." Ino hissed.

Shikamaru looked at Asuma again. He glanced across the line of trees that surrounded the opening in which Asuma stood. He let the techniques that his companions used play around in his mind for a bit. He closed his eyes and placed his finger tips together in front of him as he was deep in thought.

He opened his eyes. "Chouji," he whispered. "Can you do your thing again?"

Chouji grunted as he nodded in response.

"Good, I need you to sneak around to that side of the clearing. When you get there, I want you to step out and make your presence known. Don't be afraid to get showy; you're going to be the distraction. Then I want you to attack with everything you got. Make him pay attention to you."

Chouji nodded and turned to sneak off.

Shikamaru turn to Ino. "You're coming with me. When Chouji distracts Asuma, I'll capture him and hold him still. Then you can use your mind-body switch technique to make him give up the envelope. Hand it to me and we will retreat back to your body where you'll get your _precious_ envelope."

Ino nodded. "That's a good plan"

Shikamaru smirked.

The two snuck around in the opposite direction as Chouji.

When Chouji's voice could be heard they popped their heads out to see. Chouji did a great job making it showy, but it might have come across a little to cheesy for Shikamaru's taste. When Chouji launched his attack, Shikamaru quickly ran through his hand seals. His shadow darkened and it began to stretch away from him. Ino watched in awe as his shadow made its way across the open field. It also helped that Asuma jumped backwards to avoid Chouji's attack.

When their shadows met, Asuma froze in his tracks.

"_Kage Mane no Jutsu_….success" Shikamaru said with a big smirk on his face. "Ino, now!"

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When the two walk out into the clearing to join their teammate and their sensei, Ino had a huge, cheesy grin on her face as she waved the envelope in the air triumphantly. Shikamaru had the impassive look that he had at the beginning.

Ino tore open the envelope and unfolded the paper slowly. The whole time staring victoriously at their sensei. Asuma just shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck again.

After enough basking, Ino looked down at the paper to find it was completely blank. Well, almost, down at the bottom in hand written print, the word 'congratulations' was written.

"What the hell is this?" Ino barked.

Asuma just smiled at them. "Congratulations, you all pass."

"What?" all three cried.

"It was the objective of this exercise. To see if you three can work together as a team."

"I get it." Shikamaru said almost disappointed.

"What the hell!" Ino shouted.

Chouji's stomach grumbled.

"As your new sensei I am proud of you. You work well together and for a reward I would like to treat you to some barbeque."

"Yeah!!!" Chouji screamed.

Shikamaru smirked. Maybe none of them were strong enough to complete the task by themselves, but together they could pull anything off.


	12. Chapter 12

First Mission

A slight breeze caused a chill to run down his spine. He looked up at the clouds which seemed almost perfect today. He didn't want to move as he laid on the side of the hill. It would have been a perfect day if not for the foreboding sense of danger and excitement he felt running through his body. Something was coming.

"Shikamaru" he heard a soft voice call his name.

He turned his head in the direction the voice came from, but he could not find the source. He shrugged it off as he returned to his beloved clouds, but the ominous feeling still remained.

"Shikamaru" he heard the soft whisper again.

This time, he sat up and turned to face the direction that he now heard the voice coming from. Again, he found nothing. This was beginning to trouble Shikamaru a little bit. He narrowed his eyes as he scanned the hillside for the hidden source of the troubling voice and grew frustrated by the fact that there didn't seem to be anything stirring.

"Shikamaru" he heard again, but this time it was close and right behind him.

He spun around quickly, supporting his weight with his hands as to keep from falling off balance. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the image he saw.

It was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and she was standing there in front of him, stark naked. Her distinct features were distorted a little due to the fact that the sun was directly behind her casting her shadow down onto his face, but he could make out her soft curves and her linear structure through her silhouette. It was a stunning sight to behold.

Shikamaru swallowed hard as he felt the heat that was beginning to swell up in his abdomin. Without a train of thought, in the blink of an eye, he was standing face to face with the beautiful woman. He must have turned to face south because the sun was now illuminating the right side of her face showing her strong yet distinctly feminine bone structure. He looked into her eyes and became completely mesmerized by her stare. He wanted to move. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but he body would not respond. He swallowed hard once again and tried to will his eyes to avert from hers, but found that an impossibility as well.

"Shikamaru" she whispered again which allowed him to momentarily tear his gaze from her eyes to her soft, supple lips.

However, his eyes soon snapped back to hers. He got lost somewhere in those eyes. Their color, he could not think of a suitable word in his language to accurately describe them. He only felt that somehow these eyes had taken him over as if it was a very strong illusion.

He felt an overwhelming desire to do something. What? He was not quite sure. His body was telling him to make a move, but he could not find a suitable move in his mind. He wanted to...

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Shikamaru gasped for air as his eyes shot open. He sat up quickly and breathing slowed as he felt the heat in his core beginning to wane. When he had finally calmed himself down, he glanced over at the clock on his night stand.

"Shit" he whispered. 'I slept through my alarm' he thought.

He felt something on his covers as his hands rested in his lap. He through the covers off to reveal a wet stain on his boxers.

"Troublesome" He muttered as he shook his head. 'I haven't wet the bead since I was two. What the hell is wrong with me?" he questioned himself at the lack of control over his body functions.

He shuffled over to his dresser and pulled out a fresh pair of boxers. He took off the old ones and gave them a quick inspection which only caused him to shake his head once again before he through them into the waste basket by the door. He quickly dressed himself and rushed out the door missing the question his mom threw at him as he passed by.

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It was the day of their first mission. They were official ninja, doing official work for the village of Konoha. The four of them stood in front of the Hokage and a few others who were counting money or shuffling through paperwork.

Shikamaru on the other hand, was distracted by the 'incident' this morning. 'That's the last time I eat curry before going to bed.' He rationalized to himself looking for an explanation. The curry had caused the 'interesting' dream and his bodies physical reaction to the dream was caused by improper gestation. This rationalization seemed to ease his mind a little, he would just have to see if his theory would prove itself out.

"Mmmm" the Sandaime Hokage muttered as his lips were busy holding his pipe so his hands could be free to ramble through scrolls and papers. "Team ten, as your first mission, You will be assigned to..." he paused to narrow his eyes on a particular scroll in his left hand. ",,,ah, yes, assigned to babysit Yojyu-sama, the Daimyo's nephew."

"Ugh" Chouji murmured

Shikamaru's attention snapped at the word 'babysit'. Sigh.

"Babysit! What happened to real ninja work?" Ino's volume and pitch raised as she completed the question.

Asuma rubbed the back of his head as he bit down hard on the cigarette in between his teeth.

The Hokage sighed as he rubbed his temples with his free hand. He then set down the scroll and removed his pipe from his mouth. He was about speak when Asuma interjected.

"We will accept the mission, Sandaime-sama." Asuma said politely not wanting get in another quarrel with his father.

"Very well, you will meet him at his residence before noon. His parents will return around six. You are to ensure his well-being and make sure he is properly...entertained." The Hokage coughed to cover a laugh at the end of the sentence.

"Arigatogozaimasu" Asuma stated, bowed and then began ushering the young genin towards the door.

Once outside the room, Asuma let out a sigh of relief.

"Babysitting?" Ino asked once again.

Asuma shook his head. "You know you could try to be a little less troublesome."

Shikamaru smirked at the adjective. "It won't be that bad, at least we didn't get harvesting potatoes."

"But babysitting?" Chouji added.

"Actually, picking potatoes would probably be easier." Asuma interjected.

All three genin looked at him quizzically.

Asuma shrugged. "Have you met Yujyu-sama?"

They all shook their heads in a collective, no.

"Well you'll find out later." Asuma said. "Let's get going."

"I wonder if you can harvest potato chips." Chouji thought aloud as the walked away.

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When they arrived at the house, they were greeted by a servant who ushered them into the forier and told them to wait there. The servant then headed upstairs and disappeared down a long hallway. The four members of team ten stood there waiting and Ino's patience began to wear thin. She started tapping her foot and the repetitions increased exponentially until she finally couldn't remain silent anymore.

"What's taking them so long?" She said aggravated.

"Be patient." Asuma scoldeder her but in a light tone.

Ino huffed and began to fidget a little as her patients was all ready gone.

"Well, we he gets here, I'm gonna take the lead since I'm the girl and I know how to handle children." Ino said as she turned to face the boys.

"Fine" the three men sighed. They didn't want to be here. They didn't want to do this mission, but it had to be done. If Ino wanted to show some initiative in this mission, far be it for them to stop her. Shikamaru just hoped that he would make it out alive if it came down to it. Gods knows what could happen.

They heard a squeal from somewhere in the house that echoed down the corridors followed by a roar of hurried footsteps. They looked to the balcony and saw a little boy come running around the corner and bounding down the stairs at full speed. When he neared the bottom. he missed the last step and tripped over his feet crashing into a slide that ended up at feet of the shinobi. He raised his head to look at them.

"You ninja?" the brown haired boy said with a gap-toothed smile.

Ino gasped as she looked down at the little boy. "Yes…we are ninja." She gave a false laugh.

"Awesome" the little boy yelled as he stood up. "Let's play ninja games!"

Ino frowned. Chouji chuckled. Shikamaru smirked. Asuma groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. Asuma has faced many dangerous foes and killed people stronger than himself. He's looked fear in the eye and he didn't blink. He's been in the company kings and lords and held his own. He was a man of many glorious accomplishments and enormous clout, but what scared him the most, what shook him at his core, what was the only challenge that he would back down from stood right in front of him. All three foot nine inches of pure, unimaginable terror smiled up at him with a mischievous grin.

"We're not going to play ninja games. We're here to make sure of your of well being, Yujyu-sama." Ino said in a sweet, but somewhat condescending tone as she squatted down to meet the young noble at eye level.

"Well, you're my babysitter and you have to do what I say." The little boy crossed his arms and pouted. "And I say that we're going to play ninja games!" he shouted loud enough to make Asuma and Shikamaru each plug an ear respectively.

Ino stood back up and huffed in disgust. She turned back to Asuma who seemed to be keeping a good distance from the little ball of fire. Her eyes bulged and her head shook with anger as she gave him a look that said 'What the Fuck, Sensei.'

Asuma stroked the facial hair along his jaw line with his left index finger. He looked towards the ceiling as if deep in thought, but in reality, he was searching for a way to make his own escape.

"Well…we were told to keep him…entertained." Asuma shrugged. "If that means playing ninja then so be it."

The three young shinobi looked at him puzzled.

"That's an order." Asuma said a little sternly trying to show a sign of a backbone.

They jumped to attention at the apparent harshness of his voice.

"Good, if you need me I'll be outside." Asuma said as he popped a cigarette out of the pack and made his way towards the door.

"Yatta!" the little boy screamed and the three young shinobi turned to face him. Each one had a scowl on their face that grew deeper as they could see the wheels turning in the boys mind behind his dark eyes.

"Ninja games…NINJA GAMES." The boy mulled over the idea with an evil tone. He looked across the faces of the three shinobi and stopped when his eyes landed on Shikamaru. Shikamaru quirked an eye-brow at the child's stare.

"OK, you're the leader of the evil ninja because I don't like the look of your stupid face."

Shikamaru's mouth dropped a little at the statement not because the statement offended him, but the attitude the little boy was showing. "Troublesome…"

Chouji coughed loud enough so that the end of his statement couldn't be heard by the boy. Ino turned around to glare at Shikamaru, but the boy spoke up again.

"And you're on the evil ninja team, too." He said pointing at Chouji who paused holding a potato chip that he was about to eat. "cause you're a fatty."

The bag of chips hit the floor. Chouji blinked a couple of times and the anger that was boiling inside of him became evident in the flush on his skin.

"What did you say?" Chouji asked through his teeth.

"What…did the fat clog your ears, too!" the boy taunted reveling in the thought that he could get a rise out of the shinobi.

"Why you little piece of…"

"Chouji!" Shikamaru said as he stepped in front of his friend. "We're not supposed to kill the client."

"Yeah, but can't I hurt him" Chouji pleaded "just a little."

"No" this time Ino spoke in a firm tone. "Plus, losing a few pounds wouldn't hurt either."

Shikamaru watched as the expression on his friends face go from anger to hurt. He turned to glare daggers at Ino.

"What" she said. "It's true." She turned around to face the little boy.

"So which team am I going to be on?" She asked sweetly. Damn. How do women change their attitude so quickly? Yet another item on the list of troublesome things about women, Shikamaru thought.

"Well, the only ones allowed on my team are pretty girls, so you're on my team."

"Awe, that's so sweet. You're such a nice young man." Ino answered his complement with a complement of her own.

"The last thing we need is those two padding each others' egos. ' Shikamaru whispered to his friend who grunted his displeasure with the situation.

"Yoshi" the little boy yelled to get their attention. Shikamaru was getting tired of the yelling. "Evil ninja are it first. Come on, pretty girl. Let's go hide." The boy said taking Ino by the hand.

Shikamaru and Chouji watched as the boy lead Ino down one of the big corridors. The boy stopped and turned to look at them.

"You're supposed to be counting to one hundred." The boy screamed back.

Chouji began counting. "Ichi…Ni…San….Yon….Go…"

Upon hearing the count, the boy took off with Ino in tow.

"What a pain." Shikamaru interrupted his friends count. "I'm going outside."

Chouji blinked a couple of times at his friend's blunt disregard for the game. He watched as his friend walked over to the door and did exactly what he said he would do. After a moment of indecision, looking back and forth between the door his friend just walked out of and the corridor that the little boy and Ino walked down, Chouji decided to join his friend outside.

Outside Shikamaru walked over to a large oak tree that was in the front yard. He sat down facing north so he could watch the clouds coming down with the northern front. He found that the clouds the cold fronts brought had some of the most interesting shapes. He was distracted momentarily when a shadow blocked the sun. He looked over to find the source of the shadow, and smiled.

"What are we going to do when the find out we're not looking for them?" Chouji asked.

"Tch, its troublesome, but that house is so big it will take them at least an hour to figure out we can't find them. Then at least another twenty minutes to realize we're not in the house and when they do look for us outside, if we keep a low profile, that will buy us another ten. So, we're looking at around an hour and a half of peace before they try to drag us into something else."

Chouji nodded.

"Are you sure about that?" a recognizable voice called from above them.

The two boys looked up.

"Asuma-sensei" Chouji spoke.

Shikamaru smirked. Seems like Asuma had the same idea.

"Ino IS a ninja, you know." Asuma questioned his assessment.

"Yeah, I took that fact into consideration, but she's being dragged around by Yujyu-sama who will slow her down a little bit. If it was just the boy I'd give us about three hours." Shikamaru said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but this is the boys home turf and he knows the area." Asuma questioned once again.

"Yes, that does give him an advantage, but as long as he doesn't know our exact location, we have the upper hand."

Asuma seemed satisfied with the analysis. He was just a little surprised by who it came from. He saw Shikamaru's record. He knew he was at the bottom of his class. Something didn't add up. Complex analysis of a situation with multiple variables was not something they taught in the academy. There was something about this boy, Asuma concluded.

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Sure enough, an hour and a half later, they were still sitting outside in relative peace and quiet. They didn't have much conversation for all Shikamaru knew because he had fallen asleep. He opened and eye when he sensed some movement. He scanned the area quickly, but saw no sign of danger. He glance up into the tree and saw that Asuma had recently vacated his branch. Then he felt it. Danger.

"Chouji…"

"Hn" his friend at this point realized that he was awake.

"Run"

"What is it?" Chouji asked in a worried tone.

Shikamaru sat up straight now with both eyes open. "Killer Intent!"

Chouji began to stir. Shikamaru was not quite sure if Chouji had felt it yet but it was growing more intense with each passing second. Chouji seemed to be collecting empty wrappers and shoving them into the bag in which he carried his food stuffs. Shikamaru could sense the danger getting closer and quickly shoved his friend into a nearby bush to conceal his presence. Shikamaru jumped in after him, but he spotted a candy wrapper that had been left on the ground where they were just a few seconds ago. In a split second, He made the decision to go for the wrapper. It would be a dead giveaway to their location.

Shikamaru jumped out of the bush and balled the wrapper up in his left hand. As he turned to retreat to the safety of the bush he heard a cry.

"Shikamaru!" Ino screeching voice caused small animals to cower in fear.

Shikamaru shoved his hands into his pockets, mainly to conceal the candy wrapper that he held in his hand, and turned to face the angered konoichi. She marched right up to him and glared at him menacingly.

"What the fuck are you doing?" She screamed.

"Did you even try to look for us." Her voice was louder than necessary.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I think Chouji looked for you guys." Shikamaru was saving Chouji's ass. He would owe him one.

"What did you do?" Ino demanded.

Shikamaru looked her straight in the eyes. "I took a nap."

"You took a nap?!" the anger began to boil inside Ino. "You left me with that…" She pointed back to the house as she lowered her voice.. "that brat" her voice rising again. "to handle all by myself."

He looked at her for a moment. "It was too much of a pain."

"Baka!" She shouted. Shikamaru could see the rage burning behind her blue eyes.

He wondered why she was so angry…

Black.

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Shikamaru touched the sensitive skin under his left eye with his finger tips as he made his way home. His eye would be black in the morning. She just had to punch him. He groaned in pain as he had touched a swollen nerve in his face. Troublesome woman.

When he got home he saw his father sitting on the front porch looking like he was waiting for someone. Shikamaru nodded to his father as he reached for the door.

"Shikamaru, yo." Shikaku called out to his son.

"What is it, oyaji?"

"Come sit with me."Shikaku murmured as if too tired to speak clearly.

Shikamaru took a seat next to his father on the porch. The two men sat in silence for a few minutes staring out at the horizon as if observing the sunset.

Shikaku broke the silence. "Son…" He seemed to be searching for the right thing to say.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow to his father who was stroking his chin whiskers as if deep in thought. When Shikaku saw his some was waiting to hear what he had to say, Shikaku rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about…something." Shikaku seemed to be avoiding the topic.

Shikamaru looked at his father curiously.

"Have you ever heard of…the birds and the bees?"

Of course Shikamaru knew what birds and bees were, but the hidden meaning behind what his father was trying to say. He looked at him questioningly.

"You see…when a man….loves a woman….uh…"Shikaku was beginning to blush.

"Umm…do you know what they mean by 'making love'?" Shikaku asked chuckling at the euphemism.

Shikamaru didn't know what his father was talking about, but the awkwardness was killing him. He nodded and gave his dad a reassuring smile.

Shikaku smiled back at his son. "Well…when the time comes, you'll figure it out. It's just…when it comes to women…" Shikaku seemed to be searching for the right words. "All I'm saying is….just be careful."

"Sure thing, oyaji." Shikamaru smiled at his father's embarrassment rather than in understanding.

"You're a good boy, don't let anyone tell you any different." Shikaku gave his son a re-assuring pat on the back. Then he sat up straight in realization.

Shikamaru watched his dad in curiosity.

"We'd better hurry up and get inside, or you mom is going to scold us."

Shikamaru smirked.

* * *

A/N: I was drunk when I wrote this.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Sorry, I've had to actually do work at work the last few days. I know. It sucks.

* * *

First Battle/Shougi, How Troublesome

It's too damn hot to do anyone any good. Summer creeps in early in Konoha because of the temporal climate. Shikamaru's jacket had long since fallen to the wayside; Chouji's muffler had found its way into his pack. Shikamaru was pretty sure the chain-smoker walking a few meters in front of him was sweating bullets. Hell, even the 'gorgeous' Ino was starting to glisten. Ino released her hair to sway in the cool breeze that provided temporary relief from the sweltering heat. Something about the way that the sun reflected off of her silky, moist skin stirred a reaction in Shikamaru's body.

Shikamaru shook his head to clear his mind. 'Damn body's acting up again.' Shikamaru thought to himself. 'Maybe I've caught a disease, or a fever? That would explain the mild rises in body temperature and the cause of the irrational thoughts I've been having lately.' Shikamaru grimaced at the recollection of such thoughts. Troublesome. A large shadow fell over the group and Shikamaru cast an eye skyward and smiled. The clouds, his closest friends and confidants, were there to help him when something was troubling his mind, and now, they were providing shelter from the sun's blistering rays.

This mission was their first C-rank mission. There were no odd jobs or troublesome brats to take care of. The had to escort a convoy from Konoha to a trade city half a days walk away. It seemed simple enough. They were to protect the convoy against robbers and thieves, and for the most part it was simple. A few small skirmishes had occurred, but most would-be robbers would run at the site of their sensei. A few, however didn't. Asuma said that it would be a good experience for us to fend off some of the attackers ourselves. Chouji got to roll over a couple of them and squealed with joy at his accomplishment right before he vomited from the dizziness. A minute later he was eating again. Shikamaru was too tired from the heat to expend any energy so he gladly let Chouji roll over his guy as well. Ino fended off her attacker with the grace and dignity of a konoichi, but when he came at her with a blade, she was forced to defend herself. She ended up stabbing the man in the abdomen after he lunged at her in attack. Asuma told her she did well, but she was feeling mixed emotions about the ordeal and for some reason had chosen Shikamaru to confide in.

"Ne, Shikamaru," she said stealing his attention from the clouds. "Do you think I killed that guy?" She asked apprehensively.

"Don't know." Shikamaru gave her the most rational answer. "A wound to the gut can be fatal, but it can take up to two, maybe three days to die from it." Shikamaru shrugged and looked at her impassively.

This was obviously not the answer she was hoping for. The look on her face made Shikamaru cringe inwardly. 'Troublesome woman.' Shikamaru thought. 'Why did you even start this conversation?'

"Look, if you feel that bad about it, you can always go back and patch up that guy's wound. I'm sure he'd appreciate it."

"Don't be stupid, Shikamaru. I can't do that. It's just..." She paused for a second to think about how to express what she was feeling in words.

But the time was long enough for Shikamaru to sense that something was amiss, not with Ino, but with the current situation. The highway they were traveling had lead them into a gorge, and now there were tall rock walls on either side of the convoy. If Shikamaru were to set up a trap, this was the place he would do it. By now Ino had continued on with her feelings over possibly killing the robber from before, but Shikamaru was far from paying attention to her. Something in his gut told him that there was definately something wrong with this situation.

He looked around to find Asuma; only to find Asuma looking back at him. As simple nod confirmed Shikamaru's suspicions. Asuma knew that something was amiss and was checking to see if his team had as well. Shikamaru's gut feeling had grown into worry. He didn't know what was instore for them and he was pretty sure he did not want to find out.

"Are you even listening to me?" Ino said waving a hand in front of his face trying to break his thoughtful expression.

He simply held a hand up to her in reply.

At first she was taken aback by his apparent rudeness, but when she saw his eyes scanning the top of the gorge, she immediately understood why he was distracted. She followed suit, and began scanning the ridge as well.

"Chouji, be aware." Shikamaru called to his friend a few meters behind them without even turning around to see him.

A simple grunt told Shikamaru that Chouji understood the situation.

The convoy stopped. Shikamaru looked towards the front to see three men standing with weapons drawn. Asuma jumped on top of the lead wagon and stared at the men.

"We are Konoha shinobi, and if you value your lives you'll retreat calmly and peaceably." Asuma stated firmly. This line of bravado had worked before on a few small groups of robbers before and they would run in fear at the words 'Konoha shinobi' if not already at the sight of Asuma. These men, however, didn't cower in fear. They didn't turn tail and run. They showed no signs of wavering.

"Oh, is that so?" The one in the middle said nonchalantly. "It looks like we have the advantage here." He continued, gesturing towards the ridge.

Shikamaru looked back at the ridge he had been studying earlier. It was now lined with robbers and thieves each holding their own rudimentary weapon fashioned from wood, metal, bone or a combination there of. He checked behind him to confirm his suspicion that there was indeed a group that was covering a retreat.

"And if _you_ value your lives, you'll retreat calmly and peaceably." He threw Asuma statement right back at him.

This statement earned him a glare from Asuma. Shikamaru could feel his killing intent rising even though Asuma stood a good five meters ahead of him. He watched as the two men standing on either side of the gang leader take a subconscious step back in fear, but the leader stood firm, not wavering at all. Shikamaru heard Ino gasp as she too, was feeling the killing intent. He heard Chouji's stomach grumble from a distance behind them.

"Awe, does this mean we won't make it home in time for barbecue." Chouji whined.

"Chouji! Now is not the time." Ino scolded him still worried about the situation.

Shikamaru chuckled lightly at his friends concern for food. "No, Chouji, I don't think we'll make it in time."

He heard another noise from Chouji which sounded like the combination of a moan and a stomach grumble.

Asuma started the game by leaping towards the gang leader. The two men beside the leader turned and ran at the sight of Asuma descending out of the sun as if hell had just fallen from the sky. The leader just leapt backwards to dodge Asuma's attack. This guy was probably a former shinobi. The rest looked like a group of regular robbers. This was probably why they hesitated to start an attack as they were torn between the convoy which was their target and the man who was now encompassed in a battle with Asuma, their leader.

Shikamaru noticed their hesitance. If they had any ranged weapons the convoy was a sitting duck. The fight Asuma was in was making its way up the side of the gorge leaving the road open to travel again. The convoy should start moving, if only for their safety.

"Shikamaru, what should we do?" The self-proclaimed leader of their dysfunctional trio spoke without taking her eyes of the enemy that surrounded them.

Shikamaru took a quick glance at her. "Troublesome ."

He looked forward and saw that the lead wagon was still. He glanced around and saw civilians who were walking with the convoy were standing there frightened. The robbers, who covering their retreat, were looking on anxiously waiting for something to begin. He looked from Chouji, to Ino, to the hesitant robbers that lined the ledges of the gorge. He closed his eyes in thought and his fingertips habitually came together in front of him.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes.

"Ino," She turned to look at him. "Get all the civilians inside the wagons."

"Hai" Ino nodded and began to move.

"Chouji," his friend gave him an encouraging nod. "Watch the back of the convoy. If those guys move, take them out."

"Sure thing, Shikamaru." Chouji turned and gave the robbers a fiery glare.

Shikamaru made his way to the front of the convoy. He jumped up on the wagon and looked at the driver.

"We need to get this convoy moving again." He said with a somewhat condescending tone to the driver as if the driver was completely retarded for not thinking of it himself. To punctuate the fact he pointed at the now clear road in front of them.

The driver gave a nod and cracked the reins. The beasts moaned in discomfort, but complied with the drivers wishes and the wagon began to creep forward. Shikamaru jumped off the wagon and made his way back to his original position. He saw that Ino had managed to get all the civilians inside the wagons and was taking a defensive stance waiting for some action. Chouji was still staring down the robbers who looked as if they were waiting for an order or invitation.

"What the hell are you waiting for." The gang leader screamed from the top of the ridge momentarily taking his focus off of Asuma. Big mistake. At that moment, Asuma sliced him in half with his chakra blades.

If only he hadn't replaced himself with a log.

"Damn it" Asuma muttered as he turned around to defend the man that was now on the offensive.

Ropes fell from the ridge on both sides and robbers began repelling down the stony face of the gorge. The whole of the convoy was now moving, but the pace was slow even for Shikamaru's standards.

"Take 'em out, Chouji." Shikamaru told his friend.

In response, he saw a giant green ball rolling toward the three robbers.

"Ino, try to pick them off as they slide down the ropes."

"Already on it." She said as one of her shuriken struck one of the robbers in the ass and he fell to the ground writhing in pain.

'At least she's thinking' Shikamaru thought as he launched a few attacks of his own. The robbers noticed that they were getting destroyed on the descent. They began to launch the counter attack by throwing stones at the young shinobi.

Shikamaru heard a scream and turn to see Ino dodge a rather large rock. He turned back just in time dodge a couple of his own. By now the convoy had cleared the ambush.

"Fall back to the convoy." Shikamaru said largely for Chouji's benefit who had steamrolled the three robbers he had asked him to take care of and was now walking back towards them holding his stomach.

When they reached the last wagon, the three of them turned to see the robbers reach the bottom of the gorge and they began to re-group before chasing after their target. Shikamaru noticed that their numbers had dwindled to less than a dozen and see to it that their numbers decreased even more. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a kunai and attached an explosive not to it. He waited for them to get closer before he threw it into the ground a meter in front of the group.

When the smoke cleared, he noticed that only three were left standing. He hoped that the rest were at least incapacitated. Shikamaru smirked, but the smirk quickly fell as the three remaining robbers didn't hesitate, but charged right at them instead. Ino reached for her shuriken holster only to be disappointed that it was empty. She pulled a kunai out of her pouch and readied herself for close combat. Chouji was panting and his stomach was rumbling even louder than it was before.

"Chouji, you all right?" Shikamaru asked in concern.

"I'm so hungry." Chouji moaned.

"You got anything left."

"Let's go, Shikamaru." Chouji grunted as he stood up straight.

"You guys done chatting because here they come." Ino said with a hint of annoyance.

Chouji charged forward and duck the swing of the first guy and planted his head in the guys gut. The guy let out a grown as he fell over to the ground. Ino deflected the guy's initial attack. As he stumbled by her, she swept his feet out from under him and then planted a foot in his chest.

Shikamaru dodge the attack by jumping sideways. He turned towards him and wrapped his right hand around the first two fingers of his left. His shadow stretched out and attached to the man's shadow. He froze instantly, dropping his weapon.

"_Kage mane no jutso…seikou_" Shikamaru mutter as a smirk of satisfaction crossed his face.

The guy stared at him in fright. Shikamaru separated his hands and brought the right one up to his face to cover a deep yawn. Ino giggled at the sight of the rather large man mimicking Shikamaru's gesture.

"Roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll" Chouji smashed into the unaware man who was still holding his hand to his head in a fake yawn. The man was thrown back against the side of the gorge. Shikamaru was thrown into the other side.

Shikamaru groaned.

"Gomen, Shikamaru." Chouji said running over to his friend.

"Are you all right?" Ino asked with genuine concern.

Shikamaru rubbed his back and groaned at the pain.

"I guess it works the other way around, too." Shikamaru mused. "If they're forced to move I move as well."

Chouji helped Shikamaru to his feet.

"You guys did really well." All three heads turned to see Asuma sitting atop the last wagon in the convoy.

"Asuma-sensei! How long have you been there?" Ino snapped at him.

Asuma gave a shrug. "Long enough to see you all perform beautifully. There may be hope for you guys yet." Asuma said with a smile.

The complement seemed to quell Ino's anger as she gave him a small smirk.

"Ugh" Chouji collapsed on the ground clutching his stomach.

"Since you guys did such a good job, I'm going to treat you all to some barbecue when we get back." Asuma said with a big smile as he jumped off the wagon and lit a fresh cigarette when he landed.

Chouji tried to yell in happiness, but the pain in his stomach prevented it. Instead, he just flashed a huge smile that had a hint of pain.

Shikamaru dusted himself off and gave his friend a smile. 'Being a shinobi is going to be hard than I thought.'

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Asuma had given them the next day off, so Shikamaru had made no plans for the day. He didn't even go through with the effort to set his alarm. Sleep was something Shikamaru found that he could not get enough of. Except for the occasional strange dream, sleep was escape from troublesome reality. He was glad for the day off because he would've probably slept the entire day.

Too bad his mother didn't see it that way. Oh, she made sure to wake his ass up early and start on chores. Working hard early in the morning was far from what he had wanted to do on his day off. After mending the fence, feeding the deer and planting a few herbs that his mother decided to grow. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked towards the sky. The sun was high so it was now time for lunch.

When he arrived at home, he discovered his mother already had lunch prepared. She brought a bowl over to him and smiled.

"Eat up. You're going to need your energy for the afternoon." She said whimsically waving her hand in the air and turning back to the kitchen counter. "There's still a lot of work to be done."

Shikamaru sighed. 'This woman will be the death of me.' He thought as he slid a little piece of what she had prepared. To say, that he was more than displeased with doing all of the house work on his day off, would be the understatement of the decade. However, he know that if he expressed his displeasure to the woman who held so much power over him he would end up in an even worse hell.

A knock at the door snapped him out of his depressing train of thought. He set his chop sticks down and began to stand up when his mother spoke.

"I'll get it." She pointed a finger at him and gestured for him to sit back down. "You eat."

"Hai, hai." He mumbled as she walked away. He immediately regretted it, but she either didn't hear him or chose to ignore the comment because she didn't turn around to correct him.

Shikamaru didn't care who was at the door. He was just glad that someone had distracted his mother. But when the door opened, and his mother spoke, his attention grabbed immediatlely.

"Sarutobi Asuma-san" she seemed a little surprised.

"Konnichi wa Yoshino-san is your son home?"Asuma replied.

"Why, yes, do you need him?" she asked.

"Would you mind if I steal him away this afternoon?" Asuma responded.

Yoshino thought for a moment. She didn't want her son getting out of doing his chores, but if he was going to become a good shinobi he probably needed all the instruction he could get. She looked towards the kitchen and saw her son looking back at her bored. She sighed.

"Shikamaru, Asuma-san is here to see you."

Shikamaru set down his chop sticks and rose from the table. He walked over to the front door and nodded to Asuma.

"Arigato Yoshino-san." Asuma thanked Shikamaru's mom. "Let's go, Shikamaru."

They walked down the road a little. Shikamaru took in the clouds. He was happy that Asuma had saved him from an afternoon of torture, but he was not quite sure what Asuma had wanted him for.

They arrived at a small house and Asuma lead Shikamaru to the porch. There was a small square table with eighty-one squares painted on it. Asuma sat down on one side and Shikamaru assumed that he was supposed to sit down at the other. Asuma looked at Shikamaru as he took a long drag off of his cigarette before removing it from his lips with his left hand and flicking the ash onto the ground.

"I wanted to introduce you to a game." He stated.

'A game' Shikamaru thought. 'What does a game have to do with being a shinobi?'

"It's called shougi." Asuma continued as he picked up a box with his free hand and dumped the pieces onto the table.

"Shougi," Shikamaru chuckled at the idea. "How troublesome."

"It's a must for people who are good at coming up with strategies, like you." Asuma said sensing Shikamaru's discontent.

Shikamaru scratched his temple as he stared at the forty pieces that spilled out onto the table.

"Here," Asuma said shoving a book into Shikamaru's view. "that will tell you the basics of how to play."

Shikamaru looked at the book. Shougi for Beginners He flipped it open and scanned the first couple of pages before flipping the book closed.

"It's a pain, but I'll have it down in ten minutes." Shikamaru said looking back up at Asuma.

Asuma nodded in response before taking another long, satisfying drag on his cigarette.

In less than ten minutes, the match had begun. Asuma concede first move to Shikamaru who move a seemingly innocuous piece. Asuma moved a pawn to open up space for his bishop to move next. Seventeen moves later, Shikamaru rotated Asuma's king piece to stand on the small end.

"What…" Asuma said trying to comprehend how he lost. Then he recognized the strategy. "The Climbing Silver."

"Yeah, the book said something about breaking through an enemies defense. You didn't have to go easy on me you know."

"Uh.. I, uh… I just didn't think you would use a strategy like that."

"Why not" Shikamru questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I guess it's inevitable to lose pieces in battle, but somehow I just can't bring myself to give them up so easily." Asuma mused as he scratched his chin.

"I'm not as logic minded as you think." Shikamaru stated. "Let's play again. This time I'll go easy and not use 'the Climbing Silver'."

Shikamaru began setting the board up again when a dark haired woman approached the two of him.

"Are you teaching him shougi?" She asked in a soft voice. She tilted her head slightly to the side as her red eyes looked on with interest.

"Oh, Kurenai," Asuma fumbled over his words. "Yes" he said rubbing the back of his head and blushing.

Shikamaru noticed his sensei's mannerisms and gave him an odd look.

"That's nice" she said sweetly at Asuma before smiling at Shikamaru.

"Yeah" Asuma chuckled as he looked at her. For some reason, her presence made him seem to lose control of his tongue.

"Ok, well, I'll see you later." She said still smiling at Asuma.

"Uh…sure." Asuma was still finding it hard to get more than one or two words out. Asuma watched her as she walked away, slowly letting her image burn into his mind.

When she was no longer visible, he stared at the spot she had vacated before slowly returned to Shikamaru. He saw the bored look on his face.

"What?" Asuma asked as he removed his hand from the back of his head and the blush began to fade.

Shikamaru just shook his head. "Nothing," he then pointed to the table. "Your first this time."


	14. Chapter 14

I Don't Like This Game

The clouds were his escape. They were a refuge or sanctuary from the most troublesome times in his short life. They allowed his mind to wander freely as if he were one of them. They did not judge him or label him. They accepted him for who he was and he accepted them in return. It was strange for him to think of the clouds in such relative terms, but one this day, he chose to put them in perspective.

The clouds reminded him of life. Most of the time, he envied them in the way they were allowed to drift freely through the sky. No one was there to scold them or yell at them. No one ever tried to tell them where they're supposed to be going. No one was expecting anything from them. Oh yes, on these points he envied tem greatly.

But they also kept him grounded in reality. They would remind him that life isn't always carefree. They would remind him that sometimes in life, a storm comes which you would have to learn to deal with it. But it also taught him that storms pass. Even in life, if you are going through a hard time, it will end. Another one will come, but it will pass on and everything will be all right again. It was the way of life. It was the way things have always been.

Today, even though the clouds looked like their usual peaceful selves, they were tormenting his mind. Even though it was sunny and there was a cool, north-easterly wind that paraded the clouds over his favorite roof top, they still brought him confusion.

As they passed overhead, each cloud had a way of reminding him of the troublesome dreams he's been having lately and the troublesome thoughts that had been plaguing his mind. Each cloud, in its own right, reminded him of a different part of the female anatomy. His imagination only enhanced the details. He began to feel the warmness that in his abdomen again. That, along with the images in his mind, left him feeling a weird combination of disgust, confusion, and intrigue.

Slowly he felt his pants becoming tighter and checked to see if he had grown another appendage in the last few minutes. Realizing what it was, he sat up to alleviate the pressure and placed his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his face with his hands as an attempt to call himself down, but he found that it didn't work to well. 'Something's definitely wrong with me.' He thought. 'Maybe I should go see a doctor about this. Who knows? This could affect my life tremendously.'

"Ohayou" a familiar voice called, followed by the familiar crunching of fried potato slices.

Without even looking up, "Ohayou, Chouji." Shikamaru replied.

"I figured you would be watching clouds." Chouji said as bits of chips flew from his mouth.

"Hm" Shikamaru grunted in response. His mind and body were still troubling him.

Chouji looked at his friend and could tell that something was not quite right. He took a seat on the open section of the bench next to him.

"Is there something on your mind?" Chouji asked.

"Hai" Shikamaru mumbled.

Chouji waited for him to say more, but Shikamaru just remained silent.

"Care to share it with me?" Chouji tried to push the conversation forward.

"No," Shikamaru removed his hands from his face and turned to look at Chouji. "Too Troublesome"

Chouji knew that if Shikamaru didn't want to talk about something, that he was damn sure not going to talk about it. If something was troubling his friend that much, He would talk to him about when he was ready and not until then. Chouji decided to shift the focus on himself. He knew Shikamaru wouldn't mind helping him out, and if it got his mind off of what was troubling him, Chouji would in turn be returning the favor. At least that's the way he saw it.

"Ne, Shikamaru." Chouji got his friends attention. "I've had some troublesome things on my mind, too."

"Hn" Shikamaru begged to question, although his face didn't show it.

Shikamaru didn't notice it, but his pants were starting to fit normally again.

"Women." Chouji said with a sigh as he looked up at the sky Shikamaru had previously been disgusted with.

Shikamaru dare not to follow his friends gaze because the clouds and this subject matter would cause the unwanted feelings to return.

"I thought I was the one who found women troublesome? You seem amused by their idle chatter and their nonsensical reasoning." Shikamaru now found himself pushing the conversation forward.

"I do, it's just..." Chouji laid the bag of chips on the bench between them.

Shikamaru was now worried. Chouji never set down a bag of chips unless the bag was empty. 'Something must be wrong with Chouji' Shikamaru thought. 'Maybe he should see a doctor.'

"Just what?" Shikamaru replied thinking of the places he could locate a medic at this time of the morning.

"It's hard to explain." Chouji murmured as he looked back at his friend. "I've just been feeling...strange lately."

"Feeling?" Shikamaru part questioned, part confirmed.

"Yeah, and I asked my father about it, and he said that it was normal, something about growing into a man." Chouji shrugged then sighed.

"Well, did you ask him to explain further." Shikamaru asked more for his own benefit.

Chouji scratched his head. "He said that as a boy grows into a man, he feels the desire to be with a woman." Chouji explained. "Something about, it's the way life is and living on through future generations or something. I'm not quite sure."

Shikamaru pondered for a moment. "Did he say anything else?"

"Not really, he just said that I would know when the time comes." Chouji answered with a shrug and a frown. "I don't know when that will be, but I'm not sure if I like this feeling."

Shikamaru's gaze wandered for a minute, not focusing on anything in particular. His mind was deep in thought. So he wasn't the only one to go through this. All men went through this. It was natural. It was something that was just part of life. Troublesome, if he had more information, he could probably figure this out. If it was something every man had to go through, that meant that there was probably a lot of information on the subject considering the number of men in this village alone, not to mention the countless men who lived in the past. Why would they keep this a secret. What was so taboo about this subject? If it was part of life, than why weren't they taught about it by their parents, the academy instructors, or their senseis? He would definitely need to get more information, but judging from people's reaction to the subject; he doubted he would find any solid information from a single source. This would probably require research.

As Shikamaru was deciding which was more troublesome, the unwanted feelings or the effort to put into research, Chouji stared at him with a puzzled look.

"What do you think I should do?" Chouji broke Shikamaru's train of thought.

"Hn"

"What should I do?"

"About what?" Shikamaru now looked puzzled.

Chouji sighed. "About these strange...feelings."

Shikamaru recalled the conversation that had sparked his recent brain storm. "Oh, that."

"Yeah."

"Well, have you tried to think about something else? What about your favorite food." Shikamaru tried to help Chouji think of an escape.

"Doesn't work. It reminds me of women." Chouji murmured.

'Strange' Shikamaru thought. 'I guess were in the same boat. Our favorite escapes, only remind us of our trouble.'

"Try thinking of something boring, something you hardly ever think about, something that you haven't attached any feelings to."

"Like what?" Chouji questioned.

"I don't know." Shikamaru stated as he stood up and stretched. "How about this?" He kicked a pebble towards his friend's feet.

While Shikamaru watched Chouji kick the pebble around between his feet, Shikamaru thought about the conversation he just had. Although it wasn't very informative, it managed to ease his mind. He looked back at his friend. Even though Chouji was the one asking for help, he unknowingly helped Shikamaru out in his own way. It's good to have friends.

"How's that working for you?" Shikamaru asked Chouji.

"It's better." Chouji said with a small smile.

Shikamaru noticed that his shadow had shrunk in the time they had been talking. He had somewhere to be at this time.

"I got to go, Chouji." Shikamaru said as he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked towards the stairs."I got to meet Asuma-sensei for something, probably shougi."

Chouji stopped kicking the pebble around, "Try not to beat him too bad this time." Chouji called to his friends back.

Shikamaru stopped at the top of the stairs. "I'll try" he said then turning his head to his friend, "Ja ne". Then he walked down the stairs to go meet Asuma.

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When Shikamaru arrived at Asuma's house, he saw that the shougi table was already set up outside. Did Asuma really like getting his ass kicked in shougi or what? He never understood why Asuma kept inviting him over to play shougi fully knowing that his odds of winning decreased each time they played. The more Shikamaru played, the more he learned about the game. The more he learned about the game, the more he liked it. It didn't require much effort, and it allowed his mind to run through strategies and ideas not to mention, distracting him from the troublesome things that haunted him daily.

Asuma, however, was not outside waiting for him like he normally was. Shikamaru gave a small frown as he walked over to the front door. 'I hope he's home.' Shikamaru thought as he raised his hand to knock.

He didn't get a chance to knock. The door started to open, and Shikamaru's hand froze in mid-air.

The door swung open and revealed the woman that had come to see Asuma a few weeks earlier. Shikamaru slowly lowered his hand to his side, as he pondered why this woman was answering Asuma's door, and where was Asuma.

"Doumo" Shikamaru greeted her not showing the confusion he was feeling on his face.

"Konichi wa, Shikamaru-kun." She smiled at him sweetly.

'She knows my name.' Shikamaru thought. 'Who is she, and wher is Asuma?'

"You're early" Asuma answered his second unheard question as he walked up behind the woman.

Shikamaru took a second to look at the position of the sun before responding to Asuma.

"Just a little" Shikamaru said with a shrug as his hands habitually found their way into his pants' pockets.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later, Asuma." The woman said smiling at Asuma.

The two of them seemed to have an unspoken conversation with their eyes for a moment before she returned her smile to Shikamaru.

"Go easy on him, will you." She said. "He's got a fragile ego."

Asuma grumbled a little bit before shooting her a poignant look.

She just smiled at him. 'Damn, she smiles a lot. Shikamaru thought. 'Her face probably hurts from all that smiling.'

"Asuma" she said with a small bow.

"Kurenai" he bowed in response keeping up pleasantries.

'That's her name.' Shikamaru thought. 'Asuma called her that the last time Shikamaru had seen her. Maybe they're close friend.' Shikamaru deduced by the way they treat each other. Shikamaru would find out later that their relationship was a lot closer than that.

She turned again to Shikamaru and repeated the process. "Shikamaru-kun" She said sweetly.

"Kurenai-san" Shikamaru said as he bowed just his head because moving more of his body would be a waste of energy.

She turned to walk away. Shikamaru watched Asuma watching Kurenai walking away. The way her hips swayed as she walked only reminded Asuma of something else that he loved about her. Shikamaru saw the dumb look on his sensei's face.

He coughed to get his attention.

Asuma snapped out of his daze. "Ah, yes" he said remember why Shikamaru was here.

Asuma reached inside the doorway and grabbed a small bag before heading over towards the shougi table. Shikamaru walked to the other side and took his seat opposite Asuma. He looked around for the small box that contained the pieces, but didn't see it.

"Oi, Asuma-sensei, where's the set?"

"Uh," Asuma hesitated nervously. "I thought we would try something else today." He said rummaging through the bag he brought with him.

"I don't know." Shikamaru moaned. "I really wanted to play shougi."

Asuma, sensing Shikamaru's apprehension, moved quickly to reassure him.

"I know, I know, but these games are designed to challenge your mind. Seeing as, I am _hardly_ a challenge to you when it comes to shougi, I found some other games that might be more to your standards."

Shikamaru thought about it. Sure, Asuma was no challenge to him when it came to shougi. He often had to find ways to handicap himself to make the games last longer. He was actually looking forward to playing shougi today because he had thought of a great strategy he wanted to try out. If Asuma thought Shikamaru needed a challenge, he was probably right. At the moment, Shikamaru just wanted a distraction.

"What kind of games are they?" Shikamaru questioned, still not ready to give up on shougi for today.

"They're designed to push your analytical and decision making skills to the limit." He wasn't lying. It was more like a half-truth.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Putting my skills to a test?" He questioned not knowing how close to the truth he was.

"You could say that." Asuma said with a knowing smile. A little worried that Shikamaru had figured out the purpose behind the 'games'. Though, he had come to expect that from him.

"Ok, let's see these games." Shikamaru caved to Asuma's suggestion. He looked at the clouds as Asuma produced the first challenge. Shikamaru looked down as Asuma dumped the contents of the box on the table. These weren't shougi pieces. They were something else entirely.

"What's this?" Shikamaru questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"These blocks come in assorted shapes, no two are the same. Yet somehow they are all supposed to fit together into one big block." Asuma said scratching his head and glancing at the instructions in his hand.

Shikamaru let out a big yawn before looking at the randomly shaped blocks that were scattered across the shougi table. He studied the pieces for a few seconds before raising his right hand to flip a piece over. He glanced across the other pieces before he saw a piece that would slide into the previous one.

Asuma only watched in surprise as Shikamaru assembled the seemingly random pieces into a large block shape. Shikamaru yawned again as he slid the last piece into place and then looked at Asuma. Asuma looked dumbfounded.

"Uh," Asuma stuttered as he noticed that Shikamaru was staring at him. "Wow, I didn't see that."

Shikamaru shrugged at him. "Is that it?" His ability to hold a yawn in was lost at birth.

"Yes" Asuma said as he scribbled something down on a piece of paper. He put the block back into its container and reached into the bag to pull out the next one.

"This one 'challenges your comparison skills. Try to tell the difference between the two pictures on each card." Asuma said handing Shikamaru a stack of cards.

Shikamaru sifted through the stack of cards glancing at each for a moment before passing on to the next.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't like this game."

Asuma could tell he was losing him. "What are you not up to the challenge?" Asuma tried to push him forward.

Tried and failed.

Shikamaru could not be pushed forward, not by that. He didn't really care if it was considered a challenge or not. He just thought it was troublesome. He really wanted to play shougi. However, the alternative to these games would be having to deal with the troublesome thoughts and feelings he had been trying to avoid so he decided to continue on with the lesser of two evils.

He re-opened his eyes and gave Asuma a disappointed look before looking down at the first card. After a few seconds, he turned the card around and set it on the table facing Asuma. He began explaining all the differences between the two images to Asuma who was busy scribbling on the paper, struggling to keep up with Shikamaru's pace.

This continued on through different types of games as Shikamaru found that these 'challenges" to be more a test of his patience than anything else. When they finished the last game, Asuma made a few more marks on his paper before his eyes shifted from the paper to Shikamaru. Most people would consider the look on his face priceless. However, the only other person there was Shikamaru, and he just found his face disturbing.

"May we play shougi now?" Shikamaru asked.

Asuma saw the look on his face and knew that he probably didn't care about the information on the paper that he held in his hand, but it was never-the-less astonishing.

"Sure" Asuma was the one to cave this time. He reached into the bag and pulled out the shougi set and handed it to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru dumped the pieces on the table and began setting up the game.

Asuma scratched his head as he continued looking at the paper that he held in his hands. He wasn't quite sure it was accurate, but if it was, it would have a whole new meaning for the young man sitting across from him.

"Uh, do you want to know what all these 'tests' were about?" Asuma asked Shikamaru.

"No"

The answer caught Asuma a little off guard. He tore his eyes from the page to see the bored look that was etched through the first three layers of skin on his face. He knew the boy really didn't care that he was a genius, and in a way Asuma felt sorry for him. At least he would have a reason.

"Why not?" Asuma pried.

"Too troublesome" Shikamaru closed his eyes and shook his head. Earlier he was considering taking it easy on Asuma and not wiping the floor with him in the shougi game. Now, he was pretty sure that he was going to kick his ass, and then make set the table up again just to have it happen all over again.

"Your move" Shikamaru said with a knowing smirk on his face as he point towards the game.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Sorry, everyones trying to bail for Christmas so they're dumping their workload on me. On the bright side, I found some time today to write my longest chapter ever. Here you go.

Mendookusai

Lately everything had gone pretty smoothly. His troublesome dreams had begun to decrease in frequency. Even his mother had found it in her heart to leave him in peace most of the time. Asuma had even taken it easy on them. Today he only ran them through a light workout before getting everyone tea for brunch. Ino was even quiet today. If Shikamaru believed in luck, he would have said to day was his lucky day. But, the day had just begun, and Shikamaru didn't believe in luck. This put him on edge a little bit.

Not wanting to break the silence, but wanting to get rid of the troublesome feeling of impending doom, Shikamaru chose a moment to talk to Asuma. Ino had left the table to go do what women do. Chouji seemed to be distracting himself with an object he found. Shikamaru slid down to the end of the bench to talk to Asuma.

"Asuma-sensei, yo" Shikamaru said to get Asuma's attention.

Asuma looked over the top of his tea at Shikamaru and made eye contact.

"Who is that woman that's over at your house when we play shougi?"

Asuma caught some hot tea in his throat. If not for is skill as a shinobi, he would have sprayed the young ninja in front of him. Asuma swallowed the hot liquid hard and rubbed the pain out of his throat.

"Her?"Asuma said sounding a little bit hoarse struggling hard to fight embarrassment.

Shikamaru nodded.

"Just…uh…"Asuma was having trouble rationalizing an explanation. "She's a friend." Asuma finally got the simplest answer out of his mouth.

"A friend?" Shikamaru questioned wondering how Asuma could willingly be friends with a woman. "Isn't she troublesome?"

Asuma was taken aback by the question. He wasn't quite sure what the young man was getting at. Maybe he was just genuinely curious about his relationship with Kurenai; or maybe he was trying to find out something else altogether. Asuma rubbed the back of his head in an attempt to alleviate tension.

"No, she's not troublesome." Asuma said as nicely as he could.

Shikamaru nodded and seemed to understand. He thought to himself. 'Maybe when some women get older they lose their troublesomeness, but not all women do.'

"Who's not troublesome?" Ino asked slightly annoyed that they were talking about someone while she was gone.

Both men rubbed their forehead while Shikamaru was the only one to answer her question.

"No one, Ino."

This did not sit well with Ino. She knew the boys were hiding something.

"Come on, I can tell your hiding something." Her head, hands, hips and feet went in various directions to punctuate the fact that she was not happy with their casualness. She began to tap her foot impatiently as she waited for an answer.

Asuma finally broke the silence. "No one that you would know, there's no need to discuss it any further. Now sit down and enjoy the tea before we get back to training." He said it firm enough to make it an order, but no harsh enough to make her feel hurt.

Confused, Ino blinked at him a couple of times before looking at Shikamaru and then back at Asuma. She slowly sat down with her tea in hand trying to figure out the person they were hiding from her. 'I'll get it out of Shikamaru later.' She thought as a self-satisfying smirk crossed her lips before taking a sip of her tea.

'She's going to try and force it out of me later.' Shikamaru thought to himself as he glanced over at Ino. 'What a pain.' He shook his head.

They heard a hawk cry from overhead as they sat silently enjoying their tea. The three young shinobi did not know what it meant, so they paid it no mind. Asuma, however knew exactly what it meant. All of the Konoha jounin knew. The Hokage required their presence.

'Now' Asuma thought to himself. He then looked over the three genin that sat in front of him. 'Well, it probably means I won't have to deal with them for a while.' He felt sorry for Shikamaru because he knew that Ino would hound him for the rest of the day to find out who they were discussing early.

"Listen up," Asuma coughed. "I have to go to a meeting so I'm letting you guys go until the afternoon. Meet me back at the training ground around three." He saw a mixture of reactions from their faces and laughed to himself. He was amazed how completely different the three of them could be. Before turning to walk away he reminded them, "Remember, training ground at three."

Ino watched as Asuma left. She was a little disturbed by the lack of enthusiasm that her sensei was displaying in her training. After all, she had to beat Sakura in all things, not just love. She wondered what the 'forehead' girl was up to at this moment. She frowned at the realization that she was probably with Sasuke. If Ino were a lesser woman, she would probably start some rumor about Sakura that would make Sasuke hate her, but Ino was a better woman than that. 'Speaking of rumors' she thought.

"Shikamaru" she said with a devilish grin as she turned to look for the boy.

"Hmph" She snorted when she found that he had already left. "Damn it, He sure is quick at running away."

"What?" Chouji, who up until this point, was successful in distracting himself.

"Nothing." Ino sighed as she lowered her head. She shook her head a few times in disgust before storming off from the tea shop like a mad woman.

Chouji had managed to keep his mind distracted all morning in order to avoid thinking 'troublesome' thoughts. Now, Ino had grabbed his attention and he was immediately regretting it. He slowly began to feel that 'feeling' creeping over him once more and groaned miserably.

"Awe…I'm not hungry anymore."

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Shikamaru didn't even give Asuma time to finish. As soon as Asuma said they were free till the afternoon, Shikamaru slowly backed away from the group and retreated down a near-by alley way. He stayed off the main streets and stuck to the ones that were not so familiar to him because if he didn't recognize them, odds were that Ino wouldn't recognize them either. The last thing he wanted was to get the grilled by Ino about a subject that she had no business discussing anyway. Damn her and her good hearing.

Shikamaru paused in his retreat and looked up towards the sky. He would have wanted to go watch clouds, but Ino would probably find him at his normal locations. This frustrated him to no end. Why did women have to be so nosy? His dad always told him that he should treat women with respect, but it is hard to respect a creature that does everything in its power to make you disrespect it. 'What a pain.' He had come to the realization that society dictated that men and women should co-exist together, but the reason still eluded him. That coupled with the nagging feeling in his gut that seemed to rear its ugly head at the most inopportune times would be enough to make any man crack. But not Shikamaru, no, he was determined to figure this out. Even if it was too troublesome, it wouldn't leave him alone so it had to be dealt with.

He decided that if watching clouds wouldn't fit in his agenda for the afternoon, he would try to get more information about his current predicament. He walked aimlessly down the unfamiliar street looking for anything that might hold some answers to his questions. He came upon a shop that, he would later find out, sold pornography, but what caught his attention was a poster that hung in the window. It consisted of a scantily clad woman positioned ever so gracefully on the beach as beautiful clouds passed by in the background. She was close enough to the water that the waves had apparently begun to eat away at the remainder of her wardrobe. The picture was acceptable by society's standards, but it left little to the imagination. And Shikamaru's imagination was more than willing to complete the scene in his mind.

He felt an all too familiar and completely troublesome feeling creeping up in side of him. Right now, of all times, he wanted the feeling to go away, but he couldn't move. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the poster. He was transfixed by the image that was burning its way into his brain.

"This isn't a peep show." A stern voice broke his concentration. "Get a move on, boy."

The distraction allowed Shikamaru to tear his eyes away from the image and he turned to look at the old man who had spoken to him. He was a creepy old man whose skin showed signs of too much sun exposure. The moles on his face had hairs five centimeters long growing out of them. His slick hair was dirty and greasy, and it looked like it hadn't been washed in a decade.

Shikamaru grimaced inwardly at the sight of the man and only let a small amount of his disgust show on his face. The whip with small tassels on the end that the man held in his hand was tapping impatiently on his shoulder. Shikamaru shrugged at the man before turning to walk away.

"Pervert" the old man muttered hypocritically as he watched the boy continue on down the street.

Shikamaru cringed at the man's comment. 'Am I a pervert?' He questioned himself. He didn't want to answer the question though because he was afraid the answer would be 'yes'. He now felt unclean for what he had imagined, yet the image that had thoroughly burned itself into his mind would not leave. The more he thought of it the more perverted he felt.

He stopped his walk and was hit with a sudden feeling of resolve. He could beat this. He could figure out this problem, find a solution, and beat this. He looked up at the clouds which seemed to offer a sign of hope and he immediately felt better about himself.

He shook his head to clear his mind of the 'offending' image and scanned his surroundings to determine his location. He had reached the intersection of two streets and while foot traffic was heavy, it was flowing steadily. He looked to his right and saw his friend Kiba standing at the corner of the street. Kiba looked completely nervous bordering on agitated. Shikamaru noticed Akamaru looking particularly disturbed as well.

Kiba's head darted from left to right and then back again as he watched the crowds of people walk by. Akamaru who was perched atop his head was getting riled up by his owner's franticness.

Shikamaru approached them cautiously.

"What's wrong, Kiba?"

Kiba continued looking around nervously. Shikamaru noticed that he was trembling slightly. Akamaru looked at Shikamaru and gave a small whimper as if asking for help.

"Kiba?"

"Have you ever noticed how many women live in this village?" Kiba questioned without even looking at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at his question. He waited for Kiba to elaborate, but when he didn't Shikamaru followed his gaze to the crowd. He had to admit that there were a lot of women among the crowd, but it still didn't clarify exactly what was bothering Kiba.

"Yeah, but why is that a problem?"

This caught Kiba's attention. He turned and looked at Shikamaru incredulously.

"You don't feel it?" Kiba questioned him before getting distracted by the pedestrians again.

Shikamaru knew what he was talking about, but still wanted to get some information out of him before continuing this conversation.

"Feel what?"

Kiba turned back to Shikamaru again and looked confused. Akamaru barked at the abrupt change in mood, and Kiba looked up at him for a second before looking back at Shikamaru.

"You know," Kiba said looking for confirmation in Shikamaru's face. When he didn't respond Kiba rolled his eyes in frustration. "You know, the feeling every guy gets where he wants to 'bone' the shit out of every girl he sees."

"Bone?" Shikamaru questioned.

Kiba was already looking back at the crowd. "Yeah, 'bone'" Kiba said without thought. When he turned back and caught the questioning look on Shikamaru's face he clarified. "Yeah, 'bone', as in screw, hammer, fuck,..." when Shikamaru's face didn't change he decided to get more specific. "Having Sex? Making Babies?"

Shikamaru didn't like where this conversation was going. Sure he was getting more information, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear anymore of Kiba's euphemisms for sex. He gave a nod to Kiba telling him he understood.

So these feelings that were pestering him were just innate human desires for procreation. If a man didn't feel the desire to procreate then he probably never would and that would lead to the downfall of humanity. It made sense. It's just the way of life. A boy grows into a man, chooses a mate, fathers a child, and passes his legacy onto his children before he dies. Then the whole thing starts over again.

Kiba, while being foul-mouthed and completely crazy, had been his best source of information, so far. He had clarified a lot of things that had been pestering his mind. Shikamaru felt at ease, now. The sense of understanding let him know that even though his body held certain troublesome desires, he could figure out a way to look past it and continue on until the moment these troublesome desires were needed. All he would need is something to focus on.

Right now, his friend looked like he was going through a nervous breakdown. Maybe he could help him out, if it wasn't too troublesome.

"Yeah, I know what you're talking about. It's troublesome, but it doesn't bother me that much. Why don't you stop looking at them?"

Kiba took his friends advice and closed his eyes, but his head continued to turn each time a girl walked by. Shikamaru noticed this and wondered if Kiba's problem was really worse than his.

"It's not working, man" Kiba said with his eyes still closed. "It's not that I see them; It's that I smell them."

"Smell them?" Shikamaru tilted his head to the side in curiosity.

"Yeah, I can smell them. Look." Kiba pointed to a woman walking by. "She smells like the field that I walk Akamaru in."

Taking in a deep breath, Kiba pointed at another woman and continued.

"She smells like mom's home cooking."

Shikamaru looked at the woman. She wore an apron and looked like she had been cooking something. She was probably a chef at one of the restaurants.

"She smells like…like…like something… I don't know, but whatever it is, it smells wonderful." Kiba continued pointing at another woman who just happened to pause long enough at a stall near them for her scent to linger in Kiba's nose. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"That sounds troublesome." Shikamaru said scratching his temple in confusion.

"That's because you can't smell it." Kiba mused as he waft another scent under his nose.

Shikamaru noticed that Kiba was still jittery.

"It's got you all messed up. What do you usually do when you become overwhelmed?" Shikamaru questioned.

Kiba turned and looked at him pondering the answer to the question.

"Well, usually, my mom and my sister beat the shit out of me when it gets too bad, but they're not here right now." Kiba shrugged.

Shikamaru was almost shocked, almost, but he knew that this was Kiba. Sometimes Kiba would get to stubborn and he could understand his mother having to 'train' him.

Kiba looked back towards the crowd and gave one more sniff.

"Awe…damn" Kiba swore as he covered his nose with his hand.

He briefly took his hand off of his nose before swearing again and recovering it.

"Shit, that girl smells awful." Kiba said in a nasally tone as his nose was pinched shut with his fingers.

Akamaru must have smelled it too because he moved down into Kiba's hood and was viciously rubbing his snout into the back of Kiba's head.

Kiba turned to Shikamaru still clutching his nose. Shikamaru could see the look of horror and betrayal that something that he desired so much could assault him in such a way.

"Oh man, she smelled like…"

"I don't want to know, Kiba." Shikamaru cut him off.

Kiba gingerly took his hand off of his nose and gave a small sniff. Satisfied that the offender had left the area, he let his hand fall to his side. Even Akamaru climbed back atop Kiba's head and let out a happy bark.

"Well that does it for me. I think I'm good now." Kiba visibly relaxed. "I'm hungry. Are you hungry, Akamaru?"

Akamaru barked.

"Yoshi, let's go home." Kiba said looking up at Akamaru before turning to face Shikamaru. "Ja ne" he said with the wave of a hand.

Shikamaru chuckled to himself at his friend's strange behavior. "Troublesome" he muttered before he remember where he was standing. He looked around and then remembered why he was out here in the first place.

He checked the sun and it was still high. There was still time before he had to meet the team at the training grounds. Sigh. He was in unfamiliar territory and it was making him a little nervous. He took a deep breath and calmed himself before retracing the steps that lead him to his current position. He determined that if he walked to the left he would come to one of the main roads in Konoha. He shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking. He kept to the side of the street that seemed less busy and only switched sides when an obstacle presented itself.

He smiled as the familiar buildings began to come into his view, but the smile was quickly exchanged for a frown at what he saw in the intersection. The reason for his little adventure in the first place. The one person he had been trying to avoid until they met up at three. He had hoped she would have forgotten all about it, but apparently she was still looking for him. Shikamaru jumped down an alley way before Ino could see him.

Ino looked down the road that Shikamaru was just walking down. Then she looked the opposite way and found no sign of him. She swore to herself before moving down the main road to continue her search.

A dead end. To a civilian this would have been grounds for surrender. To any normal shinobi, this was no obstacle at all. Shikamaru however, was no normal shinobi. He began to debate within himself whether or not the escape was worth the effort. If he told Ino about Kurenai; what's the worst that could happen. Then again, Ino was probably angry with him for hiding from her in the first place. Then she would probably yell at him for it. What a troublesome woman.

He sighed again before putting in the effort to leap to the roof top.

Up there, he had a strategic advantage. He was able to see down various streets and determine the best way to get out of the area. He smiled when he saw Ino's figure walking down the main street, stopping only to look down side streets for his lazy ass. He noticed she didn't even give thought to looking at the rooftops.

"She probably thinks I'm too lazy to move around up here." He chuckled softly to himself as he began to walk towards the edge of the roof. He jumped down onto the main street and stood up slowly. He smirked at the fact that Ino was no longer in sight as he put his hands back into his pockets. He turned and walked in the opposite direct that he had last seen Ino walking.

As he walked towards the edge of the village, he noticed that the traffic had become lighter and lighter. Pretty soon he was one of the few people left on the street. This bothered him a little because it made it harder to hide out in the open.

He was so distracted by looking behind that he almost didn't see the three people walking his direction. Sensing their presence, he turned around to face them and was surprised at how close they had gotten before he realized that they were there. He now stood face to face with three shinobi. He could tell by their clothing that they weren't from Konoha.

"Baka, watch where you're walking." The blonde konoichi to his left yelled at him.

All three of them looked angry for some reason. The short red-head in front of him looked as if they were full of anger and hatred. His eyes seemed to look right through Shikamaru to something behind. What, Shikamaru didn't know and didn't want to turn around to find out. Something about this boy made you not want to turn your back to him. The way he carried that huge gourd on his back without strain made him wonder how strong this boy actually was.

"I'm really starting to hate these Konoha shinobi." The one dressed in black with a mummy on his back spoke.

Shikamaru glanced at him for a second but quickly returned his eyes to the red-head.

"Let's go, Kankurou." The red-head spoke with a hint of emotion in his voice. His eyes looked off to some random thing before he started to walk around Shikamaru.

Kankurou, the one in black, was the next to move. He brushed shoulders rather roughly with Shikamaru as he walked past.

The blonde konoichi just glared at him for a second. Her teal eyes screaming thoughts that Shikamaru was pretty sure that he was glad he didn't hear them. She harrumphed as she turned her head away from him and walked off to join her companions.

Shikamaru just stood in the middle of the road thinking. 'Who the hell were those guys?' He determined from her hitai-ite that they were Suna shinobi, but what were they doing here? Why were they in Konoha? These questions needed to be answered, but there was no way he was going to try to ask them. They were intimidating to say the least, but that red-head looked deadly. No, if they were still here later, Shikamaru would just have to ask someone else.

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Shikamaru made sure he was the last one to arrive at the training grounds, purposely showing up twenty minutes late. Asuma didn't look to happy with him and Ino looked even less happy. Chouji was the only one who looked happy to see him so Shikamaru gave him a smile before joining the group.

"How kind of you to join us." Ino said not trying to disguise the anger in her voice.

Shikamaru just raised an eyebrow at her. He wasn't going to attempt to make an excuse for his tardiness.

Asuma coughed to break up Ino's hate-fest.

"Well, we were going to just train this afternoon, but I've decided to call a team meeting first." Asuma said as he saw three sets of curious eyes.

"A team meeting?" Ino questioned.

"Yes, a team meeting, I have something important to tell you. The chuunin exams are coming up."

"Chuunin exams?" Chouji cut him off with another question.

"Yes, the chuunin exams" Asuma rubbed the back of his head in frustration. "Now, if you will please stop interrupting me, I'll explain everything."

He watched the trio for a minute. Satisfied with their silence, he decided to continue.

"Let's see. Where to begin?" Asuma stroked the whiskers on his chin as he looked up in thought. "The chuunin exams are the test you take to see if your worthy of being promoted to chuunin."

"A test? How troublesome" Shikamaru muttered to himself, but it was apparently loud enough for Asuma to hear because he threw him a glare.

"Continuing on, the three of you show great potential and work well together despite your…obvious…differences." Asuma said reaching into his flack vest and pulling out some papers.

"That's why I decided to recommend you guys for the exams." He handed each of them a paper.

Shikamaru glanced at the paper briefly before looking back at Asuma. The other two took their time studying the words on the paper.

"The chuunin exams are held twice a year, so don't worry about failing because you can always try again next time. Plus, the allied nations are sending their top genin, so there will be plenty of good competition for you to test your skills against."

Shikamaru smirked. "That explains the foreign shinobi that have been seen in the village."

Asuma noticed the looks he was getting from all three members of team ten.

"Don't worry guys. If you stick together and do what I taught you to do, then you guys shouldn't have many problems." Asuma noticed the worry beginning to lift from their faces and smiled at them. "In five days, take that paper to room 301 of the academy at three in the afternoon, where you will be given the exams. They will answer any other questions you have." Asuma gave them the most re-assuring smile he could muster.

"Yoshi!" Ino cried out as she stood up and pumped her fists in the air. "We can do this, guys, just follow me."

Asuma saw the excitement in her eyes and chuckled lightly. "At least one of you is excited." By now Asuma was sure that Shikamaru wouldn't get excited about this. In fact, he was pretty sure that Shikamaru would never get excited about anything.

Ino was pretty sure too. "Shikamaru, why can't you show some passion for anything? Don't you want to become a chuunin?"

"I don't really care, Ino." Shikamaru said with absolutely no emotion.

Ino was growing frustrated. "Well, maybe you don't want to be a chuunin, but I do. And you're going to help, right, Chouji." Ino said without peeling her eyes off of Shikamaru.

Chouji threw his best friend a questioning look.

Shikamaru looked back to Ino and grimaced at her scowl. "Fine, fine, can we drop this now?" Shikamaru questioned as he looked from Ino to Asuma.

Asuma noticed the attention on him. "Well, we were originally going to train today, but I'm feeling generous. So I've decided to give you the rest of the day off." Asuma looked at Ino. "You can tell your parents all about it." Asuma looked at Chouji. "You can go get something to eat." Then Asuma turned to Shikamaru. "…or you can do… absolutely…nothing." He looked at all three. "It's up to you, but I expect you to be here at eight tomorrow morning to resume our training."

"Yea!" Chouji squealed.

Shikamaru just shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Ino remained suspiciously silent.

"Dismissed" Asuma said with a sense of finality.

Chouji ran off to get to something to eat.

Shikamaru ignored the look Ino gave him and started to walk away from the training grounds. He thought he was in the clear, but he winced when he heard Ino's angry voice from behind him.

"Shikamaru, I need to talk with you."

"_Mendookusai_"


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Crazy week. I couldn't find time to sit down and write it all in one sitting so this chapter is pieced together different sections I wrote at different times. I think it fits together if not let me know.

**Warning: The first part of this chapter contains graphic descriptions. **

* * *

The Exams

Dawn is breaking. He knows because of the hints of light that escape through the gaps in the curtains. He knows because he is awake…and has been for the last three hours.

Unlike most of his comrades who are also awake at this time, it is not worry that is causing the sleeplessness. Sure, he understands that the chuunin exam is not something that is easily dealt with, but to him it didn't matter. If he didn't pass, it would be no skin off his back. Hell, he even heard that some chuunin took the exam for years before they passed. Why should he be any different? If it ever became troublesome, he would just quit. He didn't care what other people thought of him because he knew exactly who he was, …or who he wanted to be.

It wasn't the fact that yesterday; some random Ame shinobi interrupted a perfectly good afternoon of cloud watching by trying to pick a fight with him. Why him, of all people. It was not like he was going around looking for a fight. The Ame shinobi had rambled on about the weakness of Konoha shinobi and how he was going to prove a point to all of them. Then the verbal attacks became physical ones. Shikamaru did not like it at all and quickly concealed his presence. The Ame shinobi was persistent though, and kept searching for Shikamaru who had concealed himself in the nearby forest. Shikamaru grew weary of the man's persistence and wished he would just leave. When the man came too close to finding him, Shikamaru decided to act. He caught the man in his shadow and forced him to run into a tree, only to see the man turn into a log.

After that, Shikamaru did not see any other Ame shinobi that afternoon, and the strange event confused him a little. Why such a random attack, and why was he the only one attacked. For the life of him, he couldn't conjure a reasonable explanation. Since he had not seen or heard about any other attacks, he assumed that whomever it was that attacked him was working on his own accord.

No, it wasn't the exams that kept him awake, and neither was it the random attack from yesterday. It was the state of arousal that caused him to wake up in the middle of the night. Trying to deal with it was the reason he couldn't fall back asleep. He didn't even have _that_ dream. For the last few days since he had discovered the reason for his sudden urges, he had done a very good job of suppressing them with willpower, but tonight, he found willpower was not enough.

The struggle between the will of his mind and the strength of his urges played out for a few hours until he found pulse quickening and his core temperature rising. When he began to perspire, he threw his blanket off and found he had a full erection.

"Damn it" he swore to himself. He had hoped to avoid getting this far because he was never quite sure when it would go away.

He tried to think of something, anything that would distract him from his predicament. Nothing worked. He was only getting warmer and the hot summer morning was not helping. He decided that a cold shower would feel better than the smoldering heat that he was currently experiencing.

Sighing, he sat up in his bed and looked over at his alarm clock. It wouldn't ring for another thirty minutes. He reached over and turned it off. No point in it going off if he was already awake.

He stood up. Finding it a little awkward, he hunched over and walked to his dresser. He grabbed his pants and a change of boxers before sliding out of the bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom.

He set the clothing down on the counter and placed his hands on either side of the sink. He raised his head to look at himself in the mirror. He looked so tired. He would give anything to be asleep right now, but his throbbing problem was a reminder of why he was awake in the first place. He turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water on his face with his left hand as he supported his upper body with his right. He looked back into the mirror as he rubbed the water into his face. He noticed that the excess water had trickled down his face and stained the collar of the shirt he was sleeping in.

He brought his hand down and hooked his fingers around the now wet collar and slowly drew the shirt over his head until it cleared his body. He felt a chill as the cold air attacked the sweat on his skin. He shuttered as he discarded the shirt on the floor. Sighing, he looked in the mirror one more time contemplating whether this will get easier to control.

Looking down, he tugged at the waist band of his boxers to confirm what he already knew. His 'problem' had not gone away.

He let his boxers fall to the ground and he turned and entered the shower. He turned the knob marked cold and jumped when the water touched his skin. He should have expected that. His breathing became short and shallow as the cold water cascaded down his body and over his erection. After getting over the initial shock and pain, he felt his body slowly acclimate to the temperature. Even though it didn't feel as cold any more, his body began to shiver in response.

He mentally cursed himself. If he caught a cold before the exams he would never hear the end of it from Asuma, from his teammates, or from his mom.

Wanting some relief from the shivering he reached up and added some hot water to the mixture. He felt the warm water coming from the shower head and relaxed immediately. The shivers subsided and he began to relax. The warm water, however, did nothing to alleviate his problem. In fact, it only enhanced it.

The warm water sent strange sensations through his arousal which shot throughout his body. In a weird mixture of pleasure and fear, Shikamaru didn't know how to react. He looked down at his erection as if it was looking back up at him.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" He whispered not really expecting a response.

One never came.

Frustrated with his own body, he poked at it with a finger. Each time, he felt his body twitch in response. It was really sensitive.

Frowning at it, he slowly wrapped his left hand around his erection, closing his eyes at the strangely foreign yet intriguingly pleasant sensation that his cold hand had brought him. Something inside him caused his body to push it deeper into his hand. He was a little confused by the feelings that seemed to spread to his extremities.

Not quite sure whether or not to continue exploring the situation or to simply wait it out as he had done previously, he tightened his grip and he shut his eyes even harder. He just stood there letting the warm water add to the effect as his mind raced with thoughts of the women from the poster in the shop window that he had seen earlier in the week.

Unconsciously, almost instinctually, his left hand began to move. Constantly changing positions and varying pressures, it created a torrent of wild sensation that left him emotionally confused. It felt good, and that's what bothered him. He had been struggling to control these new feelings and emotions that his body seemed to be creating, and he felt torn between what he thought was right and what his body was asking for.

Even though he was confused, he found it a troublesome task to will his hand to stop what it was doing. It kept moving and he was starting to enjoy himself with each movement. He was feeling guilty about continuing, but his body's will was stronger than his mind's, this morning.

He felt his testicles begin to stir and draw up towards his body and he froze. His eyes shot open and his hand immediately released and dropped to his side. Not fully understanding what was going on in his body, he strained his abdominal muscles and tensed his legs in an effort to contain whatever part of him that had broken loose and was now moving freely inside of him.

The excruciating pain that came from fighting against nature caused him to drop to his knees. The pleasure he had once felt was replaced with guilt and pain as he looked down between his knees at his now flaccid penis. The pain was starting to go away when he noticed some white, viscous fluid leak out of him. That was something he's never seen before.

"Oh shit, I broke it." He whispered exasperatedly as he watched the fluid that had exited his body slide across the floor of the shower and circle the drain before taking the plunge out of site.

* * *

After recovering from the initial shock and subsequent embarrassment, he got dressed and went to the kitchen to discover that his mother was already awake and had breakfast made. After breakfast, his mother had him do a few chores and tend to a few errands before he ate lunch and went to join his team before the exam. He hid the embarrassment well and didn't want anyone to know the atrocity he had committed against himself that morning.

When he met up with his team, he looked, by any other point of view, a little disturbed, but to his teammates, he looked normal. The deceptive scowl of agitation that had found an almost permanent residence on his face, and to those who knew him, it was pretty much how he felt all the time.

"Cheer up, Shikamaru." Ino's high pitched voice shattered the peaceful ambivalence he had built up during the day. "It wouldn't hurt you to show some passion once in a while."

Shikamaru wondered for a moment if it was her passion or the reflection of the sun that caused the gleam in her eye.

Chouji knew there was no way Shikamaru was ever going to show his passion through outward expression so he asked the question that was probably on the minds of every genin currently in the village.

"Ne, Shikamaru, are you excited about the chuunin exams, today?"

Shikamaru knew that his teammates were anxious, but he wouldn't let that affect him. He had too many other troublesome things on his mind to care.

"Tch, Let's hurry up and get these troublesome exams over so we can go home."

Chouji smiled at Shikamaru because he could have predicted his answer. Ino frowned at him because she hated the fact that he never took anything they did with the seriousness she thought a good shinobi would.

The three of them made their way into the academy and up the first flight of stairs. When they arrived at the second floor, they noticed a group of genin had accumulated in the hallway. Ino and Chouji stopped for a moment to try and figure out what was going on as they looked over the crowd of people they didn't recognize. They noticed that two young men seemed to be addressing the rest of the group.

Shikamaru, however, shrugged at the site and turned to continue up the next flight of stairs. He ascended five steps before realizing that his team was not accompanying him. He turned around and found them staring into the crowd.

"Guys," He beckoned their attention.

They looked at him and realized he was urging them to continue to the next floor.

"But…" Ino said pointing to the crowd.

Chouji also had a questioning look on his face.

Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes before shaking his head and beginning to explain the situation.

"Look, Asuma-sensei said we were to meet in room 301, which means it is on the third floor." He raised one finger in the air denoting its elevation. "I don't know why they've decided to congregate on the second floor, but if we don't get to the classroom, it will end up more troublesome for us."

Chouji shrugged an acceptance of his reasoning. He pulled out and opened a bag of chips as he joined his friend on the stairs.

Ino, who was still pointing at the crowd, was a little slower to accept his reasoning. After a moment of mental clarity, she realized the truth in what he was saying and joined her teammates as they made their way to room 301.

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When they entered the classroom, there were quite a few people already there and at first glance, Shikamaru could not recognize any of them. When all of them turned to see who had entered the classroom, Shikamaru grew uncomfortable with their stares. Feeling slightly overwhelmed by the shear number of eyes upon them, Ino and Chouji instinctively huddled closer to Shikamaru.

"That's a lot of people" Ino whispered to Chouji behind Shikamaru's back.

Although a little surprised himself at the large group of participants, Shikamaru, who found it too troublesome to cower in fear, decided it was better to seek refuge in an available spot in the room to his right. While the average person would feel awkward in the silence that filled the room, Shikamaru felt strangely at peace. The only thing that would make it even better would be if the ceiling would open up and reveal the cloudy sky. But Shikamaru was a realist, and he knew that wasn't going to happen. He closed his eyes and imagined billowy white matted across a various shades of blue.

Crunch.

Shikamaru opened his eyes awakened from his beautiful day dream. His best friend had finally settled into the awkward silence enough to resume eating. Shikamaru smirked at the irony as once again, all eyes had turned their direction.

Ino glared hard at Chouji. It took all of her restraint to yell at him right now because that would only bring more unwanted attention upon herself. Chouji just gave her a big, stupid grin and continued eating any way.

No longer able to imagine, Shikamaru took the opportunity to scan the group of shinobi from various countries. He recognized his friend Kiba immediately standing with what Shikamaru assumed was his team. There was a tall guy with dark glasses who seemed a little distant or melancholy; either way, Shikamaru thought that he didn't fit in with the rest of the people in the room. On Kiba's other side, stood the shy little girl whom he had seen in detention a few times back in the academy.

He heard the door open and followed suit with everyone else and turned to see who it was.

A guy in a tight, green jump suit with bobbed-hair and really fuzzy eyebrows took a few steps into the room. When he saw that everyone was staring at him, he blushed furiously. He must have felt like he interrupted something because he composed himself, took a deep bow, and apologized respectfully.

"Gomenasai"

Shikamaru heard a young woman giggle at the young man's antics. She must have been one of his teammates because he immediately rushed over to sit next to her as well as another Konoha genin.

Shikamaru resumed scanning the crowd once again until his gaze fell upon the trio of Suna shinobi he had run into earlier in the week. They were brooding as if anyone in the room could set them off at any moment. He wondered what they had been through in life to make them so jaded. Especially the short red-head with the gourd on his back. He looked at people like they could die by his hand at any moment, and he looked like he would enjoy it, too. Shikamaru made a mental note to make sure and stay away from that guy.

His thoughts were interrupted once again as he heard the door open, and once again, he turned to stare at them just like everyone else.

His crazy friend Naruto entered, along with Sasuke and the pink-haired konoichi that always fought with Ino, Sakura if he remembered correctly. He almost laughed at the look on their faces when they realized that everyone was looking at them, but he didn't because he probably made the same stupid face when he entered the room.

Apparently, the sight of Sasuke was enough to make Ino forget about embarrassing herself because, as soon as she realized he was there, she ran towards him.

"Sasuke-kun, you're late." She said in her high-pitched girly voice that made Shikamaru cringe. "I've been eagerly waiting for you since I heard I could see you for the first time in a long time." She wrapped her arms around his neck as she jumped him from behind.

"Get away from Sasuke-kun, you Ino-pig!" Sakura yelled pointing a finger at Ino.

'Oh man, here it goes again.' Shikamaru thought to himself. Even though Shikamaru didn't like Sasuke, he did feel for the guy. Shikamaru hated seeing a fellow man being badgered by a woman, let alone multiple women, even if the guy is an asshole.

"Oh my, It's you, Sakura. Your forehead is wide and you're still ugly...as usual." Ino said as she shifted from her death grip on Sasuke to a one-armed hug.

"What did you say?" Sakura was getting pissed.

Ino stuck her tongue out and pulled down on her lower, right eyelid.

"Nanda yo," Shikamaru finally decided to join the group as Chouji walked with him. "Are you three going to take this troublesome exam, too?"

"Hey," Naruto butts in. "It's the Baka Trio."

Shikamaru hated the nickname that Naruto called his team because he knew that they were far from idiots.

"Stop calling us that." Shikamaru all but demanded in a voice that almost sounded angry. "How annoying." he mumbled to himself a little to loudly.

Chouji just kept on eating his chips as Ino decided to re-ignite the fight with Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun is mine." She stated and made that ridiculously childish face one more time.

Just when it looked like Sakura was about to explode raising her fists above her head and opening her mouth to scream, another voice made its presence known.

"Yahoo! Found you guys!" Kiba had apparently made his way to see them.

When Shikamaru turned his head to see him, he discovered his team had come, too.

"So I see everyone's here." Kiba said with a stupid smirk on his face.

"Konichi wa" the shy little girl almost whispered the greeting from behind Kiba.

Shikamaru didn't know if anyone else noticed that when she greeted them her eyes were only trained on one of them. Shikamaru found her choice interesting and wondered why she wasn't looking at Sasuke instead. He only hoped for his friend Naruto's sake that she didn't try to jump him like Ino jumped Sasuke.

"Huh," Naruto said when he noticed her looking at him.

She blushed hysterically and averted her eyes from his as if he could see through her.

"So you three made it, too. Tch!" Shikamaru scoffed.

"I see" Kiba said. "So all nine of the rookie genin this year are going to take the exam." He turned to address Sasuke. "How far do you think we can get? Ne, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke scoffed at his arrogance. "You seem pretty confident, Kiba."

"We trained like hell." Kiba said with not only his arrogance growing but his stature as he corrected his posture in an attempt to look more intimidating. "There's no way we're going to lose to you."

"Shut up." Naruto butted in. "Sasuke aside. I'm not going to lose to you." The false bravado in the air was so thick you could cut it with a kunai.

"Gomen, Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun didn't mean it that way..." the shy girls voice dropped off. She looked away and began to fidget when Naruto looked at her again.

Kiba noticed her shy away this time and Akamaru barked at her from atop Kiba's head.

Akamaru's bark caught Chouji's attention. Chouji seemed to daze off for a second when he began to move closer to Akamaru who was perched on Kiba's head. He almost made it before Kiba's other teammate stepped in between them. Chouji looked up at him confused, so the guy mumbled something inaudible.

"Nanda?" Chouji questioned.

The guy looked down at the ground. Chouji followed his eyes down to see a small bug crawling across the ground.

"I said, 'Don't step on it.'" the guy said monotonously.

Chouji gave the guy a strange look."You're going to eat that?"

Chouji's question caused everyone to turn their heads and look at them. The awkward silence once again reigned over the room.

"Hey, you guys." A voice called out from beside them. "You should quiet down a little." The guy said as he approached the group.

All nine heads turned to face him. He was older than them and he wore a Konoha hitai-ite. Shikamaru was too thrilled with this guys appearance, but appearances can be deceiving.

"So you're the nine rookies who just graduated from the academy, correct?" The guy asked.

None of them responded just staring at the guy who approached them out of nowhere.

"You're all just fooling around with those cute faces...Geez, this isn't a field trip."

All of them seemed to take offense to this statement. Shikamaru felt a little offended even if he knew this guy was right. They had just graduated from the academy and from the looks of it, they didn't have near the experience that some of these people had. In fact, some of them scared him shit-less.

"Who are you to tell us that?" Apparently Ino was the most offended because she was the first to speak up.

"I am Yakushi Kabuto." the guy stated. "Look around you..." He paused to give everyone time to look around.

When he looked around, Shikamaru realized that the room, now filled with people, had been observing their whole escapade.

"The ones behind you are from Amegakure and are known for their short temper." Kabuto stated.

Shikamaru noticed the shinobi with the rain symbol on their hitai-ite had taken a disturbing interest in their conversation. He was beginning to feel like everyone there was glaring at them as if they had committed some unspeakable crime.

"Everyone is tense waiting in anticipation of the exam." Kabuto continued. "I'm warning you so that you won't get picked on."

Everyone in their group fell silent.

"I guess it can't be helped though," Kabuto said matter-of-fact-ly. "Since you are just rookies who don't know anything." Kabuto closed his eyes in thought for a moment. "It makes me remember the old me."

Kabuto was interrupted from his day dream by Sakura. "Kabuto-san, was it?"

"Yes"

"Is this your second time to take the exam then?" Sakura asked pointedly.

"No," he said looking at her directly. "It's my seventh time."

Everyone went quiet again.

"Huh" Shikamaru said when the realization of the number hit him.

"This exam takes place twice a year," Kabuto informed them. "And it is my forth year."

"That means you know a lot about the exam, right?" The way Sakura said it made it sound more like a statement.

"Yeah" Kabuto confirmed.

"So you must be an expert, Kabuto-san." Naruto's deduction made little sense to Shikamaru.

"But he hasn't passed it yet." Shikamaru felt obliged to inform Naruto about the validity of his source of information.

"Yeah," Kabuto chuckled in embarrassment. "That's true."

"Is the chuunin exam that difficult?" Shikamaru asked rhetorically. "This is getting even more troublesome."

Sensing everyone's anxiousness, Kabuto offered to aid them.

"Maybe I should give my cute underclassmen some information then..." Kabuto said reaching into his pouch. "...with these recognition cards." Kabuto fanned a rather strange looking deck of cards in front of his face.

'Information' the word was a light bulb in Shikamaru's brain. If Kabuto had some decent information about the exam, Shikamaru could find a way to make it less troublesome.

"Recognition cards?" Sakura didn't understand what he meant.

"In the simplest terms, It is a card that has information burned into it using my chakra." Kabuto informed her. Kabuto knelt down and placed the deck on the floor. "I've collected information on the exam from the last four years. There are about Two hundred cards in total."

Kabuto flipped the top card over to reveal that the other side was blank.

"It looks white, but..." Kabuto placed his left middle finger in the center of the card. "To get the information from this card..." The card in question began to spin under Kabuto's finger.

"What are you doing?" Sakura had to ask, too impatient to let him finish.

"It's made so that you can't view it without my chakra." Kabuto told her. "Like this." Kabuto raised the first two didgets of his right hand and the card under his left popped in a plume of smoke.

Sakura was in awe. "Wow, what information is this?" She asked.

Kabuto went on to explain the different allied nations and how the Hidden villages from each nation would send their top genin to the chuunin exams. Then he explained the purpose behind the chuunin exams. They real purpose about maintaining a balance of power between the nations.

"Why would they go through a troublesome task like that?" Shikamaru asked. Politics was a topic he had yet to familiarize himself with probably because the topic itself was too troublesome.

"If they don't, then the weak countries will be invaded and dominated by the stronger ones. So they need to check and restrain each other's powers." Kabuto explained. "That's just my guess, though."

When Sasuke asked about personal information on individuals, Shikamaru was lost deep in thought. A shinobi was more than just a too, a job or a career. He was a representative of his nations wealth and strength. Shikamaru thought about himself. Did he accurately reflect the strength and ideals of his country? Was he the personification of a Konoha shinobi? These thoughts weighed heavy on his mind. The fire country was the richest of the great nations and Konohagakure was the strongest of the hidden villages, at least by reputation.

When Kabuto showed them the first card, Shikamaru saw that Sasuke had asked about the boy with the extreme eyebrows. Shikamaru didn't think twice about the guy. His mind was concerned with himself at the moment. He still was when Kabuto said the name of the second guy, but when he glanced at the picture to see who it was, his attention was immediately drawn to the card.

It was the Suna shinobi who had the gourd strapped to his back. Shikamaru listened in as Kabuto explained the little information he had on the guy. Shikamaru knew from only one encounter that he was not a man to mess with. He was shocked to learn that he had survived a B-ranked mission without getting a single scratch. That meant that his defense was near if not flawless.

After hearing Kabuto explain everything, a silence fell over the nine rookies. Oddly enough, the silence was broken by the last one any of them expected.

"I'm starting to lose my confidence." The shy girl said as she began fidgeting nervously.

"It's a little late for that." Ino snapped obviously feeling the pressure.

Shikamaru looked across the faces of his friends. He saw a wide variety of emotions plastered on their faces, from worry to fear to an odd anticipation. He thought deeply of his own indifference on the situation. He was confident enough to know if the situation became too hectic, he would find a way to get his ass out of it. Quitting was a viable option in his mind, and he didn't feel that it made him any less of a man.

His thoughts were broken when her heard a shout from behind him.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm not going to lose to any of you!"

Shikamaru smirked at his rambunctious little friend's antics.

Ino berated Sakura about her teammate's outburst.

Sakura apologized to everyone before badgering Naruto.

The little commotion had been a distraction that the Oto shinobi used to conceal their movements through the crowd. Shikamaru hadn't noticed until they were a few meters away. By then, they had committed themselves to the attack.

Shikamaru watched a Kabuto easily dodged the two kunai that the first shinobi threw at him from the air. He sensed a second shinobi charging in and watched as he pulled his hand back to swing. Kabuto easily dodged the physical contact as he slid backwards away from the Oto shinobi. Shikamaru was amazed at Kabuto's quickness.

Kabuto stood up and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Crack.

"I saw you dodge the punch." Sasuke questioned. "Why did your glasses brake?"

"Hm, He must have hit his nose." Shikamaru reasoned to him. "He's just acting tough."

"I see, so it was that kind of attack." Kabuto said removing his glasses.

Then Kabuto collapsed to the ground gripping at his stomach. Sasuke and Shikamaru looked on in shock.

"Why did Kabuto-san throw up?" Someone asked from behind them.

The Oto shinobi who threw the kunai turned to face the crowd of onlookers. "Let me make this clear. The genin for Otogakure will become chuunin."

The crowd remained silent. Even if some of them were angry at the Oto shinobi, ninja were trained to suppress their emotions. Shikamaru noticed that none of the other shinobi in the room let their expressions betray their emotions, if they even had any. Naruto and Sakura had made their way to Kabuto's side inquiring to his health. Shikamaru noticed that they had no qualms about displaying their emotions to others.

Shikamaru wondered if shinobi training had made these people less than human. He wondered whether or not _his_ shinobi training would turn him into an inhumane zombie whose only existence was the destruction of someone else's.

No. He shook his head. Life is far too troublesome to be categorized that simply. It was impossible to for one to suppress their emotions completely. He was sure that they felt something, but they wouldn't let their guard down in this situation.

Shikamaru's thoughts were broken by an explosion at the front of the room.

Everyone turned to see what had caused the commotion. When the smoke settled, they saw a group of Konoha shinobi dressed uniformly in grey trench coats.

"Settle down, you pukes." The tall one in the center with a scarred face said.

"This is our first time to take the exam and we're a little anxious." The Oto shinobi who swung at Kabuto answered.

"Who are you?" Someone asked.

"I'm the proctor of the first exam." The scary man said. "Morino Ibiki."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: I hope 2009 has been better you for then it has been for me thus far.

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The First Exam

Patience is a virtue.

The saying is as old as time, but it still holds merit today. The main reason that it still does, is because, one could say, human nature doesn't allow us to be patient. When there is something to be done or some place to be, the human mind wants to accomplish it without hesitation. You would think that the saying is meant to remind you to think before you act, but I am more inclined to believe that most people just say it hypocritically because they are just as impatient as you. They just don't want to see your frustration because it is only making them more frustrated. So....

If patience is, as they say, a virtue, then Nara Shikamaru was born virtuous. Although, he would scoff at the irony. The patience that would earn him praise was birthed from many of his other characteristics that would earn him slander. These would be lethargy, indifference and an overall lack of motivation. Which is why nobody seemed to care how patient he was.

If he was as impatient as everyone else, he would probably be contributing to the aura of irritation that seemed to be emitting from the room right now. The proctor had them all line up and turn in their forms to receive a number which would tell them where to sit for the test. According to Kabuto's recognition card, there were one hundred fifty-three shinobi here, and one at a time they would have to turn in their forms, draw a number, and receive instructions from an examiner before finding their assigned seat.

Shikamaru made his way to the back of the line, along with the rest of the rookies. They hadn't been waiting five minutes when the weakest of them were starting to show their impatience. Ino was growing more and more irritated each passing second. She hid it well, but Shikamaru knew her enough to see the tension in her shoulders and when she turned around to face him instead of watching the slow moving line in front of her, he could see the frustration hiding behind her deceptively soft blue eyes.

Kiba was beginning to fidget restlessly and Akamaru was growling his dissent. Naruto would have probably been complaining verbally right now if his stomach hadn't have beaten him to it.

"Hmm, I'm hungry." He mumbled just loud enough to be heard over his stomach.

"Baka," Sakura whispered harshly. "You should have eaten before you came."

"I did, but now I'm hungry again."

Chouji, his kind-hearted friend, took pity on him and allowed him to partake in his freshly opened bag of potato chips.

"Thank you, Chouji." Naruto said as he shoved a hand full in his mouth.

"Don't mention it." Chouji laughed.

Shikamaru could see that even the stoic Sasuke was starting to grow impatient. Sakura, who was always impatient, was torn among three things: Her dislike of waiting, her annoyance with Naruto, and her strange obsession with Sasuke. Even the shy girl was looking pretty agitated with the long wait. The only ones who weren't struggling with patience were Shikamaru and Kiba's other teammate.

If Shikamaru believed in Karma, he would have felt like his patience had paid off. When he arrived at the front of the room, he turned in his forms, drew his number and after receiving some vague and useless instructions from one of the chuunin examiners, he found his seat. He looked from the card to the number on the desk. One forty-one read the card. One forty-one read the tag on the desk. He sat down and noticed that he was in the back of the classroom and on the side closest to the window. He smiled. The view of the clouds was wonderful from here.

His attention was snapped from the clouds when Ibiki stood in front of the room and began to speak.

"Listen up." Ibiki said in a firm, loud voice. "The first test has a few important rules, so listen up. I'm not taking any questions, and I'm only going to say this once."

He gave them a moment to let the information sink in.

"The test is given on a point deduction basis. Everyone starts with ten points. There are ten questions. For every question you get wrong one point is deducted." Ibiki turned to the blackboard and started writing. "For example: if you start with ten points and miss three questions, you score will be reduced to seven points."

Ibiki looked at the genin once again. When he was satisfied, he addressed them again.

"The second rule: the pass/fail decision will be determined by your team's total points."

This got a few gasps from the examinees.

"Hold on," Sakura yelled. "Your teams total points, what?"

"Shut up!" Ibiki yelled."There is a reason for this. Just shut up and listen."

Shikamaru's eyelids had already grown heavy. The lack of sleep from the night before was catching up to him. He shook his head and refocused on what Ibiki was saying.

"Now that you know, let's move on to the next rule. An examiner will determine if you cheated or did something similar during the test. Each action will result in a two point deduction."

More gasps.

"In other words, there will be people forced to leave this place without their tests being graded." Ibiki said.

Shikamaru sighed. 'They're just looking for ways to get rid of people. This is definitely going to be troublesome.' He thought, once again trying to shake the sleep from his eyes.

"Those who try to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves." Ibiki continued.

"We'll mark you at any time." An examiner with a bandage across his face said backing up Ibiki.

"You're all trying to become chuunin," Ibiki moved forward. "If you're a shinobi, then act like a first-rate one."

Ibiki waited for a moment to allow the genin the opportunity to process what he just said. He smiled at his ability to strike fear in the hearts of men.

Shikamaru looked down at the test and looked back up at Ibiki. There was no point in all this. The test had some ridiculous questions that couldn't be answered by just anyone. Even if the point of the test was to examine ones information gathering skills as he deduced, the information that the test provided was useless to say the least. It would neither tell them what was expected of them in these exams nor would it accurately represent the responsibilities of a chuunin. All this brought him to one conclusion, it wasn't worth the effort.

He looked outside to see the clouds and his eyes began to feel like the heaviest things in the world.

"If anyone on your team gets a zero, the whole team fails." Ibiki spoke.

That was enough for Shikamaru's eyes to snap back open. 'Shit,' he thought. 'Now there is no way Ino would let me out of this.' Sure enough, he didn't have to search the room very much to find her, glaring directly at him as if she knew he was going to give up on the test. He simply returned her glare with a blank stare which only made her angrier. She snapped her head back around when Ibiki spoke again.

"The last problem will be given forty-five minutes after the exam begins." Everyone looked up at him. "You have one hour for the exam."

Ibiki turned to look at the clock. When the second hand reached the twelve position, he announced. "Begin!"

Everyone grabbed their pencils and began writing their names on their tests, well, almost everyone. Shikamaru found himself in a bit of a predicament. Picking up the pencil and writing his name on the test was in a way committing to something he was pretty sure he wasn't going to do. He glanced at Ino who was vigorously scribbling her name at the top of her test apparently forgetting to check up on him. Shikamaru looked back at his own test and blinked a few times before his eyes became too heavy to keep open. Shortly thereafter, his head became too heavy for his body to hold. In a staggered motion, his body swayed in different directions before his head came to rest on the very test he was supposed to be taking.

Ahhh. What a day. The sun is shining. The clouds are in the sky. A cool breeze brings comfort as well as the many wondrous smells of nature. He stretches and then lies down in the grassy field in which he was standing. He basks in the sun's warm glow while the cool breeze helps maintain a relaxing temperature. This was the life, so carefree and peaceful. He wished everyday could be like this. No troublesome or naked women to give him give him grief or cause him to have unwanted feelings. Life was great.

He just laid there soaking in the peacefulness of the moment. His breathing is steady and his pulse is strong. His mind is clear and the world could not get any better. Little did he know that he just cursed himself.

He began to feel an ominous presence, one that he had felt many times before. He looked around and didn't see her, but he was pretty sure it was her. The clear skies had suddenly changed from a bright blue to a foreboding navy. The peaceful clouds grew fierce and blocked the warmth of the sun. He still couldn't see her, but he knew she was the cause of this dramatic change in his environment. He couldn't see her, but he could feel her.

He could feel her killer intent.

He opened his eyes slowly as to not make any sudden movements. In fear for his life, he turned his head slowly to find the source. When he locked eyes with her, he could feel her drilling holes through his head with her eyes.

Ino glared with distaste at him. Un-phased but inclined to having his body remain in the same condition after the test as it was before, Shikamaru lifted his head and returned her menacing glare with a placid stare of his own.

When she knew he was awake and was sure that he knew he would be partaking in the exam, she turned forward and went through a few hand seals before forming her hands in the shape of a box in front of her.

When her body went limp, Shikamaru knew she had just invaded the mind of her rival. 'Nice,' Shikamaru thought. 'Ino's going to put that big brain of Sakura's to work for us.' All he had to do was wait.

Her body came back to life and she quickly wrote the answers that she had memorized down. When she finished, she looked back at Shikamaru and nodded. Shikamaru nodded back to let her know that she had his attention. She on the other hand thought he was giving her the go ahead to do what she was planning on doing.

"Ready" she mouthed to him.

When she made the hand seals again and raised the 'box' in Shikamaru's direction, it suddenly hit Shikamaru what he had unknowingly agreed to. Just before Ino's technique hit him, he thought about whether or not he wanted Ino in control of his body. When he had seen her use it on other people, he never gave it much thought, but now, in the micro seconds it took to complete, he gave it his utmost attention. Not being in control of his own body, filled him with two things he never thought he would never feel, worry and fear.

Before he could make a gesture of protest, everything went black.

"Where am I?" Shikamaru asked. He began to look around in all directions. There was nothing. No light, no people, no earth, nothing. It was as if nothing existed or never had in the first place.

"Wait a minute?" Shikamaru spoke aloud. "Am I dead? Do _I_ even exist?" The answers to the questions were closer than Shikamaru realized. "I can think, so I must exist. What happened to,,,to,,,,,,everything?" Then he thought about the last thing he could remember before everything went black.

"Ino!"

Shikamaru felt his senses return to him. He could feel his body sitting in a chair. He could hear the distinct sound of graphite lead scratching against dry parchment. He could taste the stale air as he breathed in the first deep breath of fresh air. He could smell the stench of a fellow Konoha genin who sat next to him.

He opened his eyes to confirm that he had never left the classroom. He gave himself a quick once over by patting himself down, before he turned to see the one who caused him to temporarily leave this world.

Ino had returned to looking inconspicuous as if nothing ever happened. Damn, she could switch so easily, and he would respect and admire her for that if she didn't use it against him all the time. When he looked down at his paper, he realized that his test was completely finished. It would have been flawless except for the fact that when Ino filled out the test she finished the last stroke of each character with a swish or a swirl that oozed feminine. If they didn't know that he wasn't the one who wrote these answers, they would think he was girly.

Now that he had the answers, the only teammate left was Chouji. When it looked like Ino was leaving it up to him, he sighed. He hoped that he would not be the only one to be invaded by Ino, but it looked like he would be the only one to receive that privilege today. Sighing again, he looked down to the end of the row and locked eyes with Chouji. Chouji nodded and Shikamaru nodded back.

Shikamaru placed his hands under the table and wrapped his right hand around the first two fingers of his left. His shadow stretched out behind him and ran down the backs of the chairs until it connected with Chouji's shadow. When he felt that signature, almost physical, pull that he felt when the shadows connect. Though nobody could tell, Shikamaru smirk as he thought to himself. "_Kage Mane no Jutsu...Seikou_." He couldn't help it.

Knowing that Chouji wouldn't fight back, deftly, Shikamaru picked up the pencil for the first time in a long time. It almost felt like a foreign object in his hand. He shook that thought away as he moved the pencil to the paper knowing full well that Chouji would be doing the same thing. He slowly and carefully traced each character in each answer box making sure not to include Ino's trademark flair. When he finished he laid down the pencil and released his technique.

"Now I will give out the tenth question." Shikamaru looked up as Ibiki spoke.

"But before, there is one thing I must say..." He paused for un-needed dramatic effect. "The will be one special rule for the final question."

The room was silent in anticipation.

The squeak of the door opening drew Shikamaru's attention to the back of the classroom where he saw one of the Suna shinobi he had run into the other day.

"You're lucky," Ibiki chuckled. "Your puppet show didn't have to go to waste."

'Puppet show?' Shikamaru thought.

"Oh well, sit down." Ibiki said and the Suna shinobi made his way down the rows towards his seat. Ibiki took a couple of steps forward.

"I will now explain." Ibiki began. "This is..." Another overly dramatic pause. "...a hopeless rule." Ibiki turned his back to the genin to give them a feeling of distance.

"First," Ibiki said turning around. "You will have to decide whether or not you want to take the tenth question."

'Is this guy joking?' Shikamaru thought to himself.

"Decide! So what happens if we don't take the tenth question?" The blonde Suna konoichi asked.

"If you decide not to take it," Ibiki almost sounded angry at her outburst. "Your points will be reduced to zero. In other words, you will fail. Your two teammates will also fail."

A few of the genin began to voice their complaints which seemed to have no effect on Ibiki.

"And here is the other rule." Ibike said with a stern voice and a solemn look.

Shikamaru listened intently. If he had any chance he would have to figure out the hidden meaning behind the rule.

"If you decide to take the tenth question and get it wrong, you will..." Shikamaru was on the edge of his seat. "...lose the privilege to take the Chuunin Exams forever!" Ibiki finished the sentence with authority.

Kiba stood up and voiced his protest in what sounded like a heated but pointless argument.

Shikamaru, however, was contemplating the meaning behind what Ibiki was saying. Nothing was ever what it seemed to a ninja. There was always some hidden meaning behind what was being said or done, but as a ninja dealing with ninja, Shikamaru would not be surprised if Ibiki had multiple hidden motives. 'There must be a clue to the mystery in what he said. Maybe Ibiki-san will give us more information.' Shikamaru thought.

"That is why I gave you the option of quitting." Ibiki said to Kiba's protest. "Those who are not confident can decide not to take it, and take the exam the next year or the year after that." Ibiki laughed.

'That's it.' Shikamaru thought. 'He's trying to scare us into giving up. In fact, its working quite well. I really didn't want to take this exam in the first place.' The idea of quitting was sounding like the most reasonable option available. If they were willing to go through this much trouble just for the first exam, Shikamaru didn't want to stay around to see what else they would try to pull off. It would be entirely too troublesome.

"Let us begin." Ibiki said. "Those of you who will not be taking the tenth question, raise your hands. After we confirm your numbers, we will have you leave."

Shikamaru thought long and hard about raising his hand. The more he thought about it, the more he could feel someone's piercing gaze. The more he felt her gaze, the more he wanted to be somewhere else. He knew that if he quit, it would cause his teammates to fail as well. He also knew he would never hear the end of it if he did. He sighed as he turned to look outside and away from the troublesome woman who would seek to make his life a living hell.

'Oh well,' Shikamaru thought. 'What have I got to lose?'

He returned his attention to the classroom when he started hearing his fellow test-takers giving up. 'Damn it, I could be outside and watching clouds right now.' Instead, he was willing to be patient in order to preserve a peaceful future.

His attention was snapped forward when he heard a loud slam.

"Fuck you! I'm not going to run away." Naruto screamed as he stood up. "I'll take this problem. Even if I become a genin forever, I am going to become Hokage no matter what, anyway!"

Shikamaru smirked. The boy had some audacity. He would give him that.

"I'm not scared!"

One could feel the mood in the room lighten.

"I'm going to ask one more time." Ibiki said. "This is a decision that will impact your life. If your going to quit, now is your chance."

"I'm not going to take back my words." Naruto countered. "That's my nindo."

After waiting for a few minutes to see if anyone else was going to quit, Ibiki finally relented in his pursuit. 'Now,' Shikamaru thought. 'Here comes the tenth question. Hopefully someone will figure this out so I don't have to.'

"Nice determination" Ibiki stepped forward. "Then...for the first exam, everyone here...passes!"

The looks on everyone's faces were priceless, ranging from disbelief to anger to total surprise.

"Wait," Sakura stood up. "What's the meaning of that? We pass already? What about the tenth question?"

Ibiki smiled at her and then laughed.

"There was no such thing to begin with, or you can call your decision the tenth question."

"What?" Sakura said.

"Wait," the Suna konoichi spoke up. "What were those previous nine problems? It was all a waste!"

"Shut the hell up, you troublesome bitch. He already said we passed." Shikamaru muttered under his breath. He didn't think anyone heard him, but the Konoha genin next to him nodded his head in agreement.

"No it wasn't." Ibiki turned his nose up at her. "The nine problems accomplished their purpose, to test each individual's information gathering skills."

"Information gathering skills?" She sounded dumbfounded.

Ibiki went on to explain the real purpose of the test, but Shikamaru didn't really pay any attention to him. He already knew what the tests true purpose was. Instead, he was glaring down the row at the Suna konoichi. Why did she have to be so stubborn? Hasn't she ever heard the saying, 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.' Why couldn't she just be happy?

"But I still can't agree with the last question." She spoke up again.

"Man, she doesn't know when to shut up, does she?" Shikamaru heard the genin behind him mumble.

"This tenth question was the main question of the first exam." Ibiki told her.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

'Troublesome' Shikamaru thought. 'Even Ino, the most troublesome one I know, is keeping her mouth shut.'

"Let me explain." Ibiki spoke. "The tenth question was a 'take or not take' decision. Needless to say, it was a painful two-choice problem."

Ibiki hit them with the severity of the situation.

The Suna konoichi kept silent.

'About time' Shikamaru smirked.

"Let's assume that you have become chuunin. Your mission is to capture a secret document. The number of enemies, their abilities and armaments are unknown, and there may be traps that the enemy has set up. Now will you accept the mission or not?"

Ibiki paused at the rhetorical questions to let the decisions sink in.

"There are missions that carry heavy risks, but they cannot be avoided. The ability to show courage to your teammates when it is needed, and the ability to get through bad situations, is what we look for in a chuunin, a taichou. Those who cannot bet their fate in a critical situation, those who give up because there is a next year and let their minds sway over an uncertain future, the fools who carry a light determination like that have no right to become a chuunin."

'Well, I guess I'll never become a chuunin.' Shikamaru thought which was fine with him. He had plans for life and none of them consisted of risking it so freely.

"The first exam of the chuunin selections ends now. I wish you luck." Ibiki finished.

"Yatta! Wish us luck!" Naruto jumped for joy.

The glass window shattered when a giant cloth ball came flying through it . When the ball unraveled and was stuck to the ceiling with kunai, a strange looking woman appeared in front of it.

"Everyone, there is no time to be happy. I am the second proctor, Mitarashi Anko! Let's go to the next exam. Follow me!"

Silence. Nobody moved or said anything.

'This woman is crazy' Shikamaru thought.

Ibiki leaned around the cloth. "Grasp the atmosphere."

Anko looked dejected.

"Seventy-eight? Ibiki, you let twenty-six teams pass?" Anko seemed distressed by the large number. "The first exam must have been too soft."

"It looks like there were a lot of excellent students this time." Ibiki defended.

"Oh, well..." Anko caved but rejoined her previous excitement. "I'm going to make more than half the teams fail the next exam."

'If more than half the teams will fail the next exam, then maybe Ino will be more willing to give up.' Shikamaru thought about how troublesome the next exam would be if they already knew that half were going to fail.

"I will explain the details tomorrow. We will go somewhere else, so ask your jounin sensei about the rally point and time. That is all. Dismissed."

Slowly, one by one, all of the genin made their way out to the classroom. As he walked towards the door, Shikamaru took a glance at the Suna konoichi who was so outspoken after the exam. Apparently, his glance was a little too long for her taste because she snapped at him.

"What!" She said.

Shikamaru just shrugged. "Nothing." His face never let on what he was thinking earlier. Getting into an argument with the troublesome woman would be too…well, troublesome.

She huffed, not directly at him, but at the situation in general. Then she turned and walked out the door with the rest of her team muttering something that sounded like, "Stupid Konoha genin."

Shikamaru thought she needed to relax. He didn't know what life was like in Suna, but if she was always this high strung, she would probably burst a blood vessel. Something was definitely not right with these Suna genin, but Shikamaru was sure that it wasn't just an act. They were up to something.

Shikamaru walked outside and found his two teammates standing by the stairs waiting for him. They seemed to be in an animated conversation about what, Shikamaru didn't know, but was pretty sure they were going to tell him whether or not he asked. He had strolled up next to them when Ino turned and gave him an angry face.

"You were going to quit, weren't you?" Ino barked at him.

Shikamaru looked at Chouji who gave him a sympathetic shrug and a smile. Shikamaru gave him a knowing smirk back and let fall from his face as he turned to look at Ino.

"I guess you guys know me too well." Shikamaru said devoid of any emotion as he made his way past them to walk down the stairs.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Very sorry I didn't update sooner. I normally don't laet small things like work, a spontaneous social life and a four day bout with **Rohypnol **slow me down.

**WARNING: Damn, this is a long as chapter. You may want to grab some refreshments, a companion and/or a colostomy bag.**

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Second Exam: The Forest of Death

Exhaustion claimed him when he arrived home. The lack of sleep from the night before and the awkward conclusion to the day's events left him feeling tired and sleepy. When he arrived home, his mother greeted him with the warmest smile she could muster and asked how the test went, to which the only reply she received was a grunt and a sleepy yawn before he made his way to his bedroom. He knew his mother would not be happy with that, but he would deal with that later. He had an appointment with his bed and he would not keep it waiting.

Apparently, his mother wasn't too pissed at him because she didn't try to wake him for dinner, or at least, he didn't remember if she tried or not because he was too far into sleep to be disturbed. He didn't recall having a dream, so if he had that particular dream again, he wasn't bothered by it. He slept way to long for it to become an issue. In fact, when her agitated voice woke him from his slumber, he realized that it was already morning.

"Shikamaru," she yelled through the door. "It's time to wake up. You've slept long enough."

Shikamaru opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He really did sleep that long.

Sitting up, stretching and letting out a deafening yawn, he looked out the window at the early morning sunrise and felt refreshed ready for a full day of doing...well...nothing.

"Damn." He muttered to himself when he remembered he had something important to do this afternoon.

"What was that?" His mother called through the door. Apparently, she had been listening outside to see if he was beginning to stir.

"Nothing." He mumbled imagining his mother cupping her hand to the door to listen in on him. He heard her weight shirt on the wood floor outside the door before she called back.

"Breakfast will be ready in five minutes." She told him. "I'm going to wake up your father." His father, most likely had arrived home late last night from a mission because that's the only reason she would let him sleep in.

Shikamaru moved out of bed and over to his dresser. Being late for breakfast was something that you didn't do in the Nara house. Shikamaru removed the t-shirt that he had slept in and threw it into the clothes hamper. He opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a fishnet shirt. He took a second to raise his arms and sniff his armpits. 'Smells clean' he thought to himself as he slipped the shirt over his head. He grabbed his jacket that rested on one of his bed posts and made his way to the dining room.

He was the first to arrive to the table so his mother would have no reason to complain, although that would probably not stop her. He could hear her in the kitchen moving around as she finished breakfast. He heard his parents' bedroom door open and the sound of his father making his way down the hall. The smell of breakfast led him to the kitchen. Shikamaru heard his mother stop moving around and his parents exchange soft whispers in the quiet moment which only lasted a few seconds before he heard his mother scold his father.

"Stop that." She scolded, but Shikamaru could only hear the teasing in her voice. He didn't want to imagine what his parents had whispered to each other in the silence. "Go sit down, I'll bring breakfast out in a minute." The teasing in her voice had left as quickly as it appeared. Shikamaru heard his father grumble something before he heard his father's footsteps approaching the dining room.

The door to the dining room slid open and Shikaku stepped in with a cheesy grin on his face. Shikamaru just shook his head. Shikaku walked over to the table and sat down opposite of his son. He took a long sip of the tea that he had stolen from the kitchen when his wife wasn't looking before setting the cup on the table. Shikaku looked at his son.

"So..." He said, the grin still plastered on his face. "How was the first exam?"

Shikamaru set his right elbow on the table and placed his jaw in the palm of his hand for support.

"Troublesome" Shikamaru muttered as shifted his body to the right to center his head over his arm.

"Hmm" Shikaku groaned through the tea cup as he took a sip. "So what are you going to do this afternoon?"

Shikamaru focused his eyes past his father to the less than interesting piece of Chinese art work that hung on the wall behind him.

"Take the second exam, I guess."

Shikaku might have been surprised a little, but he didn't show it in his actions. However, when he spoke the surprise was evident.

"You passed?" Shikaku asked.

Shikamaru nodded.

"Your mother told me that you looked depressed when you came home yesterday and that when she asked you how the test went you just grunted and went to your bedroom."

Shikamaru just shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I was tired."

Shikaku accepted his son's answer. He had known his son long enough to know that the simplest explanation was always true when it came to him. Hell, when Shikaku was younger he was the same way, that is, until he met Yoshino. She had a way of complicating the most simple of explanations.

Both men heard the door to the kitchen slide open and neither of them had to look to see who it was. Shikaku stood to greet his wife as she entered with bowls in hand. She smiled at his courtesy as she placed a bowl in front of him. Her smile quickly fell when she turned to see Shikamaru still seated looking off into space.

"Shikamaru," Yoshino scowled. "A man always stands when a woman enters the room." She refused to place his breakfast in front of him until he did so.

Shikamaru grumbled but relented anyway. He stood up and gave a slight bow towards his mother who smiled at him before she placed his breakfast in front of him. Both men waited for Yoshino to situate herself before beginning their meals.

"Your son passed the first test." Shikaku told his wife in between bites.

Shikamaru didn't look at his mother's reaction, but he knew she was surprised.

"Well..." She seemed speechless for a moment. "...it seems my son may be worth something after all." She teased him.

* * *

Asuma led team ten towards the forty-forth training ground. Ino seemed to have forgotten about the fact that she was pissed at Shikamaru yesterday, or at least, she was focused on something else that had grasped her attention. Chouji was Chouji. He was happy with the fact that he was alive and with his friends. Chouji pleasant demeanor made Shikamaru feel better even if he thought the whole situation was troublesome. Asuma seemed laid back as he puffed his cigarette and carried a slow and steady gate.

When they arrived at the outskirts of the forty-forth training ground, Asuma turned to address the group.

"I'm very proud of you guys." He said grinning with the cigarette clenched between his teeth. "You passed the first exam and are now going onto the second. Even though you're only rookies, in my opinion you're one of the best teams among the Konoha genin."

Shikamaru knew this was just flattery in an attempt to 'build their confidence', but confidence only got you so far. In the life of a ninja, confidence would often get you killed.

"Remember, team work is the key. As long as you guys work together, you can do anything. I guess the only thing I have left to say is...good luck." With that, Asuma gestured toward the open area outside the training ground to usher them towards the other groups gather there.

"Ja, mata na" Asuma bid them farewell as he turned and walked away.

The three of them walked up and stood at the back of the group who were all facing the energetic woman who so troublesomely announced herself after the test yesterday as Mitarashi Anko.

"You'll be able to experience why this place is called the forest of death." Anko said.

Naruto who stood a couple of meters in front of them snorted and did the worst impression of her imaginable.

"There's no point in trying to scare us like that." Naruto called her out. "I'm not scared at all."

"Really?" Anko gave him a sinister smile. "You sure are energetic."

She stretched her arm out and a kunai slid out of her sleeve and into her hand. In a quick motion, she threw it at the unsuspecting young man. It sailed past Naruto's face, past an unaware Kusa shinobi and landed off to the left of Ino somewhere. In an instant, Anko was behind Naruto and whispering in his ear. The Kusa shinobi, who was almost struck, went and picked up the kunai. Holding it with his tongue, the Kusa shinobi leaned over Anko's shoulder and said something to her. After a brief conversation, the Kusa shinobi turned around and rejoined his team. Anko walked back to where she had been when team ten had joined the group.

"Before we begin the second exam," Anko said before she turned around. "I'm going to pass these out to everyone." Anko reached into her coat and pulled out a stack of papers. "These are the consent forms. Those of you who decide to take this exam will have to sign these."

"Nan de?" Naruto asked.

Anko smiled at him. "Because...from here on, people will die. Therefore, we need people's consent before we continue." Anko laughed. "Otherwise, I'd be held responsible."

Shikamaru wasn't sure about the whole 'people will die' part. He didn't feel like dying for a test that he knew he wasn't experienced enough to take. He was concerned for not only his life but Chouji's as well, and even though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was concerned for Ino's as well. It seemed that there was no way around the risk in the second exam. Instead of voicing his concerns, he held his tongue and listened to Anko's explanation of the exam.

"To be concise, you will go through an extreme survival match."

'A survival match?' Shikamaru thought to himself as he received a stack of papers from Chouji, pulled one from the top of the stack, and passed the stack to Ino. 'What a troublesome exam.'

"First," Anko continued. "I will explain the training area's geographical features." Anko held up a map that everyone strained their eyes to see. "The Forty-forth training ground is a circular region that is surrounded by forty-four locked gate entrances. There is a river, a forest, and a tower in the center. The tower is approximately ten kilometers from any of the gates."

Anko looked around and all of the genin had remained silent. She smirked to herself.

"Inside this limited space, you will have to go through a certain survival program. The program consists of..." She rolled up the map and returned it to the inside of her coat before revealing a set of blue and white scrolls. "...a competition where anything goes... over these scrolls."

"Scrolls?" Shikamaru asked and was surprised that he was the only one to do so.

"Yes, the scroll of Heaven and the scroll of Earth, you will fight over these scrolls." Anko gave them a moment to think and looked at Shikamaru who had asked about them. When he just stared blankly back at her she continued. "Twenty-six teams passed the first exam so half of those teams will get a scroll of Heaven. The other half will get a scroll of Earth. Each team will get one of these scrolls. Simply, you will have to fight over these."

"And what's needed to pass?" Sasuke asked this time.

"Bring a scroll of Heaven and a scroll of Earth to the tower with your teammates."

"In other words," Sakura spoke up. "Thirteen teams or half the people who get a scroll will fail."

"But it needs to be done within the time limit." Anko added. "The second exam has a limit of One hundred and Twenty hours or exactly five days."

"Five days!" the Ino that Shikamaru knows has now showed up.

"What about food?" Chouji asked seeming almost desperate.

"Scrounge it up for yourself." Anko snapped at him. "This forest is a treasure box of nature. There should be plenty of food."

"However," the man they met yesterday known as Kabuto spoke up. "There are a lot of man-eating beasts, poisonous bugs and plants."

"Oh no.." Chouji cried next to Shikamaru.

"Baka," Ino scolded Chouji. "That's why it's called a survival match."

"Also, it is not possible for thirteen teams or thirty-nine people to pass." A tall Konoha genin with weird eyes and pale skin said.

"As time passes, you will be required to move around more so the time to rest your body will become shorter." The guy with big eyebrows said. "This seems quite rough" he said in a gleeful tone.

"And we're surrounded by enemies. We won't be able to sleep in peace." Sasuke added.

"People will get hurt in the process." Anko broke up the chatter. "And those who cannot bear this program's strictness will emerge as well."

The idea of this exam was quickly becoming troublesome. Putting peoples' lives in danger for the protection of the village was understandable, but Shikamaru didn't see the point in risking his young, inexperienced life over something as insignificant as an exam. He knew Ino would want to at least attempt the exam so he asked a question that was the least likely to get him in trouble while at the same time allowing them an out.

"Excuse me," Shikamaru raised his hand. "Can we quit in between?"

It was a simple question and he did want to know although they would probably not allow it. He didn't look at Ino because he knew she would be glaring hard at him.

"As a rule," Anko spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "You are not allowed to give up during the exam. You will spend the five days in the forest."

"Just as I thought." Shikamaru mumbled. "How troublesome."

Ino shot him a sideways look.

"While we're on this topic," Anko ignored Shikamaru. "Let's discuss the conditions that will fail you. First, a team that cannot bring both scrolls to the tower with their three teammates will fail. Second, a team that loses a teammate or produces an unrecoverable teammate will fail."

Anko paused to breath. "Also, on a side note, you are not allowed to look inside the scrolls until you reach the tower."

"What happens if you look at them?" Naruto asked.

"Ah," Anko smiled. "That's a surprise! You'll see when you look at it."

"If you become a chuunin, you will be handling top secret documents. It's to determine your reliability. That's it for the explanation. We will exchange three consent forms for a scroll in that hut." Anko pointed to a small hut off to their left. "After picking an entrance gate, everyone will begin at the same time."

Anko let out a rough sigh. "Here's a last piece of advice. Don't die."

Shikamaru tensed as well as everyone else. For some reason, she was driving home the fact that death was expected in this exam. Was it to scare them? Was it to intimidate them into not taking the test? Was it the truth? These questions swarmed through his mind as he contemplated the exam. They would have to discuss this as a team before deciding to take the exam.

When other groups began to disperse and regroup to discuss their decision, Shikamaru nodded to Chouji who nodded back in understanding. The two of them looked at Ino who seemed to understand and began walking away to a secluded place for them to discuss the situation. When she felt they were secluded enough to not be overheard by others she stopped and turned around to face them.

"What do you guys think?" She more demanded than asked.

Chouji just rubbed his stomach. "I'm going to be hungry."

Ino eyes stayed fixed on Shikamaru even though Chouji was the one to answer the question. Did she really want to know what he thought? No, he didn't think so. The look she was giving him was daring him to say anything about not taking the test.

Shikamaru sighed. If they were going to take the test, they would have to treat it like a true survival and wait for an opportunity to present itself if they were going to have any chance to pass. However, their survival would have to be the number one priority.

"If we do this," Shikamaru mumbled and watched Ino's visage change at the hope he was extending her. "We will need to come up with a plan. We're not the strongest team here by far so we will have to find a way to make up for our weaknesses."

Ino looked as if she was giving his statement some thought, until she saw something over his shoulder and became distracted. Ino moved around them and made her way to Sakura who seemed to be lost in thought as she pondered the consent form.

"Oh my, it's you, 'shiny wide forehead' girl. I thought you went home. I didn't expect you to be here."

Sakura seemed to be thrown by the sudden verbal onslaught, but she quickly recovered.

"Oh, it's you, ugly Ino-pig girl. I have to go on a survival mission with Sasuke-kun for five days. There's no way I would go home."

Sasuke was a sour topic between the girls. Shikamaru knew they used to be friends, but their obsession with the boy had driven a wedge between them. Shikamaru could not begin to fathom as to the reasons why. Maybe that's why girls are so troublesome. They quickly grew angry with each other and their somewhat playful banter escalated into obscenities and name call. Chouji and Shikamaru could only blush at the derogatory comments the girls were making. They had never heard such a heated argument. The tension grew until neither of them could stand to look at each other. Both of them turned and walked in opposite direction.

When the dust had settled, Chouji turned to Shikamaru.

"Ne, why do they hate each other so much?"

Shikamaru scoffed and looked in Ino's direction.

"I don't know such a troublesome thing."

Shikamaru knew better than to talk to Ino in her current state. It had earned him a few bruises in the past.

"We will exchange your team's three consent forms for a scroll now." Anko called and genin teams from everywhere began to converge. They began to from a line a few meters away from the hut that concealed which scroll each team received.

Ino heard what Anko said and started moving towards the line without giving Shikamaru and Chouji a look. Shikamaru sighed and shook his head before grabbing Chouji by the muffler and dragging him off to join Ino.

Shikamaru knew Ino was still fuming from her verbal spat with Sakura and he could only hope that she wouldn't take it out on Chouji or himself.

The line moved forward quickly and efficiently. Teams would enter the hut and exit in less than a minute. Shikamaru noticed the line in front of them growing shorter and shorter until they were next. Shikamaru looked at Ino, their 'leader', who was still refusing to look at them.

"Troublesome" Shikamaru muttered. He took it upon himself to collect their team's consent forms right before they were summoned into the hut. The three of them entered the hut, and Shikamaru handed the chuunin sitting behind the table their consent forms without so much as a smile. With a simple nod and an extended hand, the chuunin handed him back a scroll of Earth.

Once again, Shikamaru looked at Ino as if expecting some direction from her. She gazed at the scroll that he held in his hand but made no attempt to answer his unspoken question. Shikamaru sighed as he placed the scroll in his own pouch before they were ushered out of the hut and lead away to a gate by another chuunin.

They were in now. There was no going back. 'It's troublesome.' Shikamaru thought. 'But we'll have to put our lives on the line for this.' The three of them stood and waited for the shotgun start to the second exam.

* * *

Once released into the forest, shinobi instinct took over and the three of them began to sprint through the trees in an attempt to distance them from the perimeter. After what seemed like five minutes, their pace slowed down to a crawl. Shikamaru jumped down from a tree limb and landed softly behind an overgrowth. Ino and Chouji followed him down.

"We need to be careful." He told his teammates. "We need a plan of action."

Ino who seemed to have finally snapped out of the stupor she had been in had realized their situation. Shikamaru could see the change in her eyes. Instead of snapping at him like she normally did, she gave him a knowing look.

"You're right." She said in a whispered tone. "I have an idea."

Shikamaru tried his hardest not to sigh out loud. Ino's 'ideas' usually involved something troublesome and often included embarrassment or physical harm.

"We should avoid direct confrontation." Shikamaru cut her off before she could continue with her idea. "There are a lot of strong people here and it would be to our advantage to remain unseen."

Chouji nodded in agreement with Shikamaru.

Ino was pissed that he cut her off. She glared at him with the angriest eyes she could must. "Doushita, Shikamaru? Are you afraid of a fight." She said in a harsh tone.

"Whatever…" Shikamaru shook his head in disgust before muttering 'troublesome' under his breath.

"He has a point, Ino." Chouji whispered.

Ino grumbled, but relented any way. "Alright, but if that doesn't work I have a back-up plan." She smirked at her brilliant idea. "I'll distract them with my amazing beauty."

Shikamaru's head hit the palm of his hand. "Really?" He asked.

"No man can resist my beauty." Ino smiled brightly as she struck a pose to prove her point.

'Sasuke seems to be doing a damn good at it' Shikamaru thought but would never say out loud in fear of Ino's wrath.

"And it would help if you guys showed some form of flattery. People always want to hear how good they are." Ino shook her head. "Why do I always feel like I have to teach you guys how to behave?"

Both Chouji and Shikamaru groaned.

"Alright," Shikamaru agreed. "But only if it comes to that."

"Good, now let's get moving before somebody finds us." Ino's confidence left her quickly. "Shikamaru, you take the lead."

Shikamaru sighed but took the lead any way. He didn't want to get any of them killed.

They advanced slowly towards the center of the forest making sure to proceed slowly and quietly as not to disturb any of the surroundings to leave a trail for others to follow. Shikamaru made sure the coast was clear, before signaling to Ino and Chouji to move forward. Ino acknowledged Shikamaru and started to make her way forward while she turned to check on Chouji.

"Chouji!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

Shikamaru turned around to remind Ino to be quiet when he saw Chouji sitting on the ground pulling a bag of potato chips out to eat.

"Um," Chouji mumbled as he pulled the aluminum package open. "I'm tired...I mean hungry."

Shikamaru thought he heard a noise off in the distance behind them and strained his concentration to detect what it was while Ino took to scolding Chouji. He heard the sound again.

"Ino, hide."

Shikamaru grabbed Chouji and leapt behind some overgrowth along with Ino. He pressed Chouji's face into the ground as the three of them lay behind the foliage. Three Taki genin landed right where they had been standing. They began looking around in an effort to find where the rookie team had gone.

'Shit' Shikamaru thought as saw one of Chouji's potato chips resting ever so conspicuously between the feet of one of the genin. Shikamaru closed his eyes and wished for a miracle.

The genin in the middle pointed off in a direction, and the three of them took off in search of a target.

When they were gone, Shikamaru stuck his head up and looked around for more.

'Something like this is going to be happening for five days?' Shikamaru questioned himself rhetorically. He let Chouji's head rise from the ground. They looked around for a minute as Ino breathed a sigh of relief. Then the three of them heard a loud scream echoing through the forest that began to shatter their confidence.

* * *

So far, they had managed to not only avoid direct confrontation, but contact as well. As the sun began to set on the first day, they looked for a place to sleep.

"Ugh, we'll never find something at this rate." Ino complained.

"I saw something that might work," Shikamaru said. "Back there." He pointed in the direction they just came from.

"Well, why didn't you say something?" Ino complained.

"Because," Shikamaru closed his eyes. Explaining everything to this woman was troublesome. "It might work, so I kept it in mind just in case we couldn't find anything better."

Ino just made a face at him in disgust.

"Let's go." Chouji said. "I'm exhausted."

Shikamaru led the group back to the place he had mentioned. A large tree had fallen in the forest, but was being supported by the trees around it. The darkness would hide them, but the shadow created by the moon would provide them even more camouflage from perceptive eyes. The tree would also provide shelter from the elements.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Chouji asked.

"Of course, it's safe." Ino told him condescendingly. "This tree's probably been here for years. Besides, it's better than the alternative."

Shikamaru was glad Ino took the job of answering the troublesome question from him. Chouji seemed to accept the answer, even if it wasn't satisfactory.

"Ok," Chouji yawned and stretched. "I'm going to sleep." He said as he began crawling under the tree's protection.

"Shikamaru's got first watch." Ino announced as she crawled in herself.

"What a pain." Shikamaru mumbled as he took a seat at the edge to begin his watch.

The night was quite and that's how Shikamaru liked it. With nothing but the ambient sounds of crickets and a few nocturnal birds of prey, it was very peaceful. Shikamaru suppressed a few yawns glancing every so often to the sky to see if the moon had shifted positions since the last time. Most people would find this boring, and Shikamaru wanted nothing else but to fall asleep right now. However, the urge to stay alive is what willed him to stay awake.

He heard the sounds of someone stirring behind him and glanced backwards to see Ino crawl up and sit next to him.

"I can't sleep." She whispered softly as she gazed mindlessly into the forest. Her eyes looked dark to confirm her statement.

Shikamaru didn't bother to respond, and continued to look out at the forest in silence. However, with Ino, silence never lasts long.

"Something's bothering me." She whispered.

Shikamaru didn't look at her. Something was always bothering Ino. It was her nature.

"You…" She continued and this grabbed Shikamaru's attention. "You… you just…" She seemed to be searching for the right words to say.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked.

"You just…I don't know." She looked away for a second before turning to stare at him coldly. "You seem like you just don't care."

Shikamaru was at a loss for words, not because she had hit some important point, but because he had no clue why his apathy would be bothering her.

Agitated by his silence, Ino narrowed her brow and continued.

"You seem like you don't want to be here. You act like this entire thing is way too troublesome for you. You're a decent shinobi, Shikamaru, but I don't want Chouji and me to be stuck out here with a coward that might leave us out to dry."

"Ino" He cut her off sharply, but there was no anger present in his voice. He didn't know if he could properly express anger. However, he resented what she said, not because she called him a coward, even he himself would admit that, but because she insinuated that he didn't care about his teammates. That not only struck a nerve, but pained him.

"I would never leave Chouji and you hanging." Shikamaru said the pain he felt laced in his voice. "You guys are not just my teammates, but my friends, even if you are troublesome." Shikamaru direct the last part specifically towards Ino, whose face softened as he spoke.

Shikamaru turned his face to look out at the forest again.

"It's what worries me the most." Shikamaru whispered. The emotion had left his voice. "I don't want any of us to get hurt, or worse, die."

A silence fell between them with only the ambient sounds of the forest breaking the monotony. Ino seemed taken by his words as she mulled them over in her thoughts. She yawned due to sleepiness, but perked up when another question crossed her mind.

"Well.." She broke the silence which caused Shikamaru to turn and look at her. "Why do seem like you don't care about these exams? Don't you want to better yourself? Don't you want to become a Chuunin?"

Shikamaru stared blankly at her for a moment before returning his stare towards the forest. Ino frowned at his silence and looked down at the ground in thought. She looked up at him when she heard him speak.

"Ino," Her eyes widened as he addressed her, but he still stared out at the forest. "It's natural that we will grow stronger as we grow older. We will advance in rank as we gain experience, and we will receive promotions due to our abilities as assessed by these exams. However, we are rookies, fresh from the academy, lacking the experience one would deem necessary."

Shikamaru wondered why Ino was being so quiet. Normally, Shikamaru couldn't complete a thought before Ino would interrupt him in an attempt to argue. He looked at her. She seemed tired as her eyes glossed over from a lack of sleep. She blinked at him a couple of times to tell him that she was still listening. Shikamaru absent-mindedly thought that a sleep Ino was less troublesome than an awake Ino and made a mental note to use that to his advantage in the future.

"We're young and have plenty of time ahead of us." He continued looking out into the forest again. "Nobody really expects anything out of us, so we don't really have a reason to exert ourselves. Asuma probably entered us in the exams to help us gain some of the necessary experience. Hell, I'd bet Asuma didn't even expect us to get as far as…"

He stopped speaking when he felt Ino rest her head on his shoulder. Shikamaru froze unsure of the appropriate response to Ino's sudden closeness. He felt the troublesome sensation begin to rise in his core and his eyes opened wide. He shuddered at the feeling and the sudden jerk of his shoulder awakened the sleepy Ino.

"Oh…" She whispered as she rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. "Gomen, your talking was putting me to sleep."

Shikamaru frowned and corrected his earlier thoughts. Ino, even a sleepy Ino, was still troublesome.

"Troublesome." He looked at the moon's position before turning around to face Ino.

"Whatever," Shikamaru mumbled. "It's your watch." He said before crawling back into the darkness to fall asleep himself.

* * *

Chouji woke him in the morning, not by nudging him or speaking to him. No, Chouji didn't do anything to directly end his sleep. It was the sound of his best friend's stomach growling. Shikamaru opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times to let his eyes adjust. He could see the first light of dawn beginning to creep over the horizon making shadows stretch through the forest.

Slowly, he crawled out from under the tree and stood next to his best friend. Chouji looked up at him as he stretched the sore muscles that were threatening to cramp. Shikamaru looked down at Chouji as his arms stretched out above his head.

"Let Ino sleep a little longer." Shikamaru whispered to him. "Lest she wake up and decide to be troublesome."

Chouji nodded with a small smirk at his best friend. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile.

Letting Ino sleep was a wise decision. When she finally woke up, she wasn't in the greatest of moods, but Shikamaru knew that she could have been a lot more troublesome. They began to search for food and were finding it a little hard to find anything edible, or at least what they would consider edible.

Shikamaru felt a presence approaching from the south and turned to warn his teammates only to find that they were already heading for cover. 'Good' Shikamaru thought. 'There already getting better.' The three of them sat behind a bush as they heard the footsteps of a single person leaving the vicinity. They were all shocked when that person spoke.

"Come out, I know you're there."

The three of them froze.

"How did know we were here. We hid ourselves so quickly." Ino whispered.

"A troublesome person has found us." Shikamaru said worriedly.

Chouji just groaned.

After what seemed like forever Ino finally spoke.

"Alright, plan A, avoid direct confrontation, failed. Let's move to plan B." Ino said in confidence.

"Ah, man" Chouji whined. "Do we really have to?"

"Yes" Ino glared at him before turning to glare at Shikamaru.

"I'm in, as long as it isn't too troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled.

"Ok, let's go." Ino said with excitement, and the three of them jumped out from behind the bush.

Ino saw who it was and immediately fell into a persona of flattery.

"Oh, if it is last year's number one rookie, Hyuuga Neji-sama. I've always wanted to meet you once." She removed the band that held up her long blonde hair that caught in the brisk early morning wind and almost touched Shikamaru. She gave Neji a wink and put on the most sincere face she could muster.

Shikamaru was not surprised that she knew who this guy was. Ino had always been a social creature and Shikamaru wondered if she knew any useful information about this guy.

"Can I have an autograph?" Chouji asked half-heartedly.

Shikamaru did his best to look as meek as humanly possible. He was aware that he was failing miserably at it.

"Oh," Neji sounded disappointed. "It's just you three."

Ino kept posing in hopes to enamor the young man with her 'sexiness', however the Hyuuga seemed unfazed.

"Be gone" Neji said flatly as he turned and began to walk away.

Mean less to say, Ino was thoroughly annoyed by the rejection. Obviously, the years of Sasuke's rejections had not taught her anything. She scowled at the back of his head, and as per her custom, she expressed her anger physically by punching the air fervidly in disgust.

Somehow, the Hyuuga had noticed her movements because he stopped and without turning around, spoken in a passive voice.

"You're pointing your fists towards me…" Shikamaru didn't have to see his face to know his eyebrows were raised. "Does that mean you want to fight?"

Ino stiffened immediately. "N-no, not at all." She waved a hand as if to physically dismiss such a notion.

"Then, be gone." Neji said as he turned his head so they could see his right eye. "Even if I take a scroll from cowards like you, I'll only become the laughing stock of the village."

"Ok" Ino sang as the three of them retreated to the hiding spot they had occupied earlier. Chouji landed flat on his face, while Ino collapsed to her knees. Shikamaru found it to troublesome to do either, so he just leaned forward resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. 'Just as I thought. He wouldn't take a scroll from weak people like us unless we opposed him.' Shikamaru thought as his breathing slowly calmed.

Ino recovered quickly as she stood to her feet and reclaimed her hair with her hair band.

"Yoshi!" She squealed as if proud of herself. "Let's go find some weak people." Ino's confidence never failed to return stronger than before.

'There's no one weaker than us.' Shikamaru thought as he tried to drown out the sound of her annoying cackle.

Chouji found some fruit in a nearby tree shortly thereafter. That was enough to satisfy Shikamaru and Ino, but Chouji's appetite was always greater than anyone else. Chouji continued skipping through trees looking for more fruit, while Ino continued her search for 'weak people'. Shikamaru dragged along behind her in an attempt to look like he was actually helping. In his mind, he knew there was no one out there weaker than them.

Chouji found another fruit-bearing tree which was far more fruitful than the one they had found prior. Chouji collected a handful of tangerines and began to munch heartily as Ino began to bitch and moan to Shikamaru below.

"Ugh, we've been looking for a while now, and we can't find any weak looking people at all."

Shikamaru thought for a moment and then an idea hit him. He turned to face Ino.

"Actually, Naruto's team is probably the only team weaker than us."

"Baka," Ino had obviously taken offense. "Do you know what you're saying?"

"What?" Shikamaru drawled lazily even though he knew it would it would piss Ino off even more.

"It is true that Naruto and Sakura are weak," Ino raised an index finger in his face that annoyed him thoroughly. "But, they have the Super genius, Sasuke-kun, on their team."

Shikamaru wouldn't put up with her shit. Her assumptions were totally unfounded. He knew Sasuke was good, but under the right situations, it didn't matter how good you were. He crossed his arms and leaned back with a smirk.

"I don't know about that. Geniuses can become quite fragile in real combat."

Ino gave him a look that could rip the soul right out of your body, and if her father could teach her to do it, she probably would.

"Hai, hai," Shikamaru relented. "I'm sorry I upset you." He hoped she would just accept his apology and drop it. Damn, she was a troublesome woman. 'She always glares at me if I talk bad about Sasuke.'

"There's no way Sasuke-kun can be defeated." She didn't drop it. "Although, Sakura can be."

Ino leaned forward in an attempt to intensify her glare while Shikamaru did his best to remain expressionless.

"Sasuke's on the ground." Chouji chose this moment to chime in. "And Sakura's fighting."

"What?" Ino questioned. She leapt up to the tree branch on which Chouji was perched and looked off in the direct Chouji was looking. Shikamaru followed shortly thereafter. Ino gasped at what she saw. Shikamaru hardly ever let his emotions show outwardly, but he, too, was taken by what he saw.

The guy with the bowl haircut and enormous eyebrow was battle the three Oto shinobi who had caused a fuss before the first exam. Sakura was kneeling on the ground holding a kunai as if prepared to defend herself, although she was visibly shaken. Naruto and Sasuke lay unconscious on ground behind her. Shikamaru wouldn't venture to guess how they ended up that way.

The three of them dropped down to ground level and snuck closer to get a better view of what was happening. From behind a small overgrowth, they watched Gejimayu get defeated by the large Oto shinobi and then as the three moved in on Sakura.

As a man, Shikamaru knew he had to do something. He could not stand idly by while a woman was in distress, but he knew there was nothing he could do by himself. He would only end up getting hurt badly, or worse, killed.

"Ino" He whispered trying to draw on her normally passionate demeanor. She just stared at what was happening, trembling in fear. Shikamaru just shook his head and turned to see Sakura cut her hair to free herself from the grip of the Oto konoichi. She began her attack, fighting desperately to protect her teammates. Shikamaru felt a small pang of guilt creep inside him watching a woman have the guts to do what he, as a man should have done.

When Sakura latched her teeth into the arm of one of the Oto shinobi in an animalist rage, she took the sharp punches thrown by the man who was cursing her at the pain she caused him. Shikamaru knew that if they didn't intervene, Sakura's life, as well as Naruto's and Sasuke's, would be forfeit.

"Ino," Shikamaru whispered again. She was trembling harder now. "Shouldn't we do something?"

Ino made gave no signs other than paralyzing fear.

"I thought Sakura and you used to be friends." Shikamaru said.

Ino's trembling stopped, but her eyes stayed transfixed as if recalling some distant memory.

"Ino" Shikamaru prodded once more.

Without warning, Ino snapped out of her daze and jumped out into the open. Shikamaru quickly caught on and sprang to join her dragging Chouji out with him by his muffler. Chouji fell onto the ground on the opposite side of Ino and quickly realize that the enemy knew that they were there. Chouji quickly scrambled to his feet and tried to run away only to be held back as Shikamaru held a firm grip on his muffler.

"What?" The Oto shinobi who was attacking Sakura exclaimed.

"Ino?" Sakura's soft voice could be heard behind them.

"Sakura," Ino's normally confident voice sounded softer. "I promised I wouldn't lose to you, remember? Besides…" Ino's confidence began to return. "I can't let you be the only one to look good in front of Sasuke."

Out of the corner of his eye, Shikamaru could see Sakura's soft, beaten face turn hard at the words Ino said. Shikamaru couldn't believe that, even in this situation, these two would still fight over Sasuke.

"What are you two thinking?" Chouji pleaded. "These guys are dangerous!"

"I know it's troublesome, but we have to do this." Shikamaru told Chouji. "Since Ino revealed herself, as men, we can't just run away."

"Sorry to get you two involved," Ino giggled. "But we're a three-man team. We do everything together."

"Well, whatever happens, happens." Shikamaru said.

"No, I don't want to die yet!" Chouji begged from his knees before trying to crawl away from the grip Shikamaru had on his muffler.

"You can run if you want," The Oto shinobi said. "...O-debu-chan."

Chouji paused. His ear twitched.

"What did that person just say?" Chouji questioned in calm voice. "I couldn't hear him too well."

'Oh shit,' Shikamaru thought. 'Those words are too taboo for Chouji.'

"Huh?" The Oto shinobi grunted.

"If he says those words again..." Chouji was cut off.

"I said," The Oto shinobi continued. "You can go in the woods and play 'hide and go fuck yourself', you fat ass."

Chouji spun around faster than Shikamaru had ever seen him move, and Shikamaru would swear he saw smoke rising from his ears.

"I'm not fat! I'm big-boned!" Chouji screamed, pointing a finger at the man. Chouji spun around like a top arms extended like an airplane. He stopped and pumped his fists releasing a large amount of chakra as he screamed. "Hurray for big-boned people!"

"Sukei!" Someone whispered, probably Sakura.

"Yoshi!" Chouji said pointed at Ino and Shikamaru. "You guys understand this is a fight between Konoha and Oto, right?"

Shikamaru sighed. "This is going to be troublesome."

"That's our line!" The Oto shinobi said in response.

"Sakura," Ino said not taking her eyes off the enemy. "Take care of your teammates. Team Ino is going to give everything we have."

'Since when did we become team Ino?' Shikamaru thought.

"Formation Ino!"

"Shika!"

"Chou!"

"Go for it, Chouji!" Ino ordered.

"Okay." Chouji threw his hands together in a sign. "_Baika no Jutsu_". Chouji expanded into a ball. "Konoha style, taijustu" His limbs and head sucked inside. "_Nikudan Sensha_".

Chouji began spinning rapidly and took off after the one who called him fat. The Oto shinobi tried to stop him by blasting him with air from his hands, but Chouji took to the air. The other Oto shinobi made a break to help out his teammate.

'I won't let you, since you're the most troublesome one.' Shikamaru thought. _'Ninpou, Kage Mane no Jutsu' _Shikamaru's shadow shot out and curved as it came into contact with his opponent's shadow. The Oto shinobi froze mid step. Shikamaru chuckled. He separated his hands and held them above his head mimicking a monkey and laughed when he saw his opponent do the same thing.

"Dosu, what are you doing?" The Oto konoichi screamed.

Chouji's opponent was able to dodge at the last second only to be chased around by Chouji.

"This must be the _Kage Shibari_ technique." Dosu said.

Shikamaru turned his palms out. "Ino, it's up to you women."

"Okay, Shikamaru, take care of my body." Ino said holding the familiar box seal towards the Oto konoichi. "_Ninpou, Shintenshin no Jutsu_".

Ino's body began to fall and Shikamaru reached out and caught her, Dosu mimicking his movements to catch no one.

"Kuso!" The Oto shinobi swore turning to look at the konoichi. "Kin!"

Kin just stood there with her head down.

"Doushita?" Dosu screamed unable to move his body.

Kin raised her head and smiled. She pulled out a kunai and pointed at her throat.

"This is it." Kin spoke. "If you guys move, this Kin girl gets it. If you don't want to retire, set your scroll down and back away. When you two back off far enough that we can't sense your chakra, I'll let this girl go."

The Oto shinobi smirked.

"Chouji!" Kin screamed.

Chouji immediately redirected his path and bumped Kin out of the way of the on-coming air cutter. Chouji, though, ended up taking the brunt of the blast flying backwards and landing hard against a tree. His head spinning, he fell forward.

Kin, who fell from getting bumped by Chouji, raised her head and looked shocked at the two men.

"You would kill your own teammate?"

"We don't care about the exams." The Oto shinobi told her. "We only care about our mission, and if killing her helps us to complete it then so be it."

Shikamaru was shocked to say the least. A shinobi has no qualms about taking a life, but the lives of your teammates, your friends, were a completely different matter. At the very least, a living teammate means an increased success rate as well as an increased survival rate. 'How could someone be so cruel?"

"How disgusting." A voice caught all of their attention. "A mere, minor Oto shinobi acting victorious beating those second class ninja."

Shikamaru looked up and saw Hyuuga Neji, the guy whom they had avoided fighting earlier, along with a woman, whom Shikamaru could only assume was his teammate.

"Lee!" Neji's teammate exclaimed seeing Gejimayu lying unconscious.

"It looks like he went overboard." Neji said calmly.

"You guys keep coming out like cockroaches." The Oto shinobi sighed.

"That guy over there is our teammate." Neji said and then the veins around his eyes began to bulge. "It looks like you went overboard with him!" Neji yelled.

Neji looked across everyone and Shikamaru couldn't help but feel frightful.

"If you're going to continue to fight, then we're not going to hold anything back." Neji said confidently. Then the veins around his eyes receded and his posture stiffened.

"Doushita?" His teammate said.

"If you don't like what we're doing, then stop showing off and come down here." Dosu said.

Shikamaru could sense a strange chakra coming from behind them and was beginning to get worried.

"No," Neji responded coolly. "It seems there is no need for me to do that."

Sasuke seemed to be engulfed in the strange chakra rising off of him and releasing into the atmosphere. Shikamaru dragged Ino's body off into the overgrowth. Chouji soon followed.

Sasuke walked over to where Sakura was sitting scanning the area and taking in the scene that lay out before him.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered.

Sasuke looked around a few seconds more before looking down at Sakura. There were visible changes on his face, no hints to emotion. After examining Sakura for a minute he finally spoke.

"Sakura," Sasuke spoke in a quiet voice. "Who did this to you?"

Sakura didn't answer. She just sat there and stared at Sasuke.

Shikamaru watched as Sasuke and Sakura had a quiet conversation. He wondered what had happened to Sasuke and why he had those strange marks across his body. He briefly thought about leaving the area immediately because the chakra that Sasuke was emitting radiated with pure evil.

He started to turn around when he realized he was still holding onto Ino's limp body. He leaned forward, sticking his head through the foliage and yelled towards Kin.

"Ino," Shikamaru said. "Get back in your body." Shikamaru pulled his head back into the overgrowth and watched Ino waiting for her to show some kind of life. When her eyes fluttered and she began to move again, Shikamaru inquired as to her condition.

"Daijoubu?" Shikamaru whispered.

"I'm alright." Ino spoke as she began to move. The three of them turned just in time to see Sasuke holding the Oto shinobi's arms up behind his back.

"You seem to be very fond of these arms." Sasuke said in a cold monotonous voice.

The Oto shinobi screamed.

Shikamaru winced as he heard the distinct sounds of bones breaking and cartilage tearing. Sasuke dropped him to the ground and turned to stare at Dosu.

"Who's next?" Sasuke said as he stalked towards the man.

"Stop!" Sakura screamed moving faster than anyone had ever seen her move as she wrapped her arms around Sasuke from behind. She whispered in his ear as she began to cry. Slowly the strange markings on Sasuke began to fade away.

Shikamaru felt as if disaster had been avoided.

"Sasuke-sama," Dosu spoke as he held out their scroll of Earth. "You are stronger than us. We will leave you alone."

Everyone just stared at him as he picked up his teammates and begin to walk away. He stopped and turned his head towards Sasuke.

"I have to go and ask someone something, but if we are to meet again in these exams, we will not run away." Dosu said solemnly.

A thought crossed Shikamaru's mind. Even if they wanted to take the scroll from Naruto's team, it was the wrong scroll.

* * *

After leaving the battle ground, the three of them spent the afternoon looking for food and avoiding combat again, all the while getting closer to the center of the training ground. The sun was getting low and the shadows were growing longer when they heard the distinct sound of a shinobi battle.

They moved in closer to get a better look without revealing their presence. Perched in a tree they could see a team from Konoha battling a team from Ame. Kunai clashed and lower level techniques were being used without thought. Everyone in the battle looked exhausted, and Shikamaru could only guess that they had been battling for quite some time.

Shikamaru leaned over to Ino and whispered.

"Ino, we could use this to our advantage."

Ino looked at him in shock.

"Are you talking about fighting?"

Shikamaru shook his head.

"If we do it right, exhausted as they are, it won't be much of a fight."

Ino looked back at the battle and saw that it was winding down. She turned back to Shikamaru and asked.

"What did you have in mind?"

"First," Shikamaru held up an index finger. "Let's see what scrolls they have."

Sure enough, the fight ended when one of the Konoha genin plunged a kunai into the gut of one of the Ame genin. He fell to the ground and his teammates retreated to a safe distance. Shikamaru wondered for a moment if the Konoha genin were going to pursue, but instead, they all grouped around the fallen Ame shinobi.

Ino looked away as she thought they were going to finish him off, but when Shikamaru tapped her on the shoulder and told her to look; she saw the one in the middle examining a scroll of Heaven before placing it in his pouch.

Chouji leaned in between them and whispered.

"Now's our chance. We need to get them before they have the opportunity to conceal themselves."

You could see the fire in Ino's eyes as she pumped herself up for battle. The fire died down when she realized one important detail. She turned to Shikamaru and said.

"What do we do?"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled as he turned to look at the three men regrouping in the battle field below. An Idea hit him and he smirked turning back to Ino.

"I think plan B might work." He said dryly.

Ino looked confused.

Chouju groaned in disgust remember the humiliation he had to endure this morning.

"But let's change it up a little bit." Shikamaru said. He leaned in and whispered something in Ino's ear. She nodded in approval. He beckoned Chouji who leaned in and received some instructions.

"Does everyone know the plan?" Shikamaru asked. When they nodded, he spoke again. "Good, now the timing needs to be perfect, Chouji, and make sure you avoid the one with the eye patch because he's our target." Chouji nodded. "Well, I guess we should do this."

Shikamaru stood up and the others followed his example.

"Yoshi! Team Ino, move out." Ino said ripe with enthusiasm.

Shikamaru just shook his head as he moved into position.

The three Konoha genin began to move away from the battle ground trying to find a place to rest and recuperate, when they came across Ino, who was feigning distress.

"Oh, thank goodness, some Konoha shinobi. I thought I was lost forever." She threw the back of her hand up to her forehead. A little too melodramatic, if you asked Shikamaru.

The three genin froze in their place and began looking around for others. Had Chouji and Shikamaru not concealed themselves so well the plan would have fallen apart, but when they could not sense anyone, they turned their attention back to Ino.

"You're out here by yourself?" One of them asked Ino.

"Yes," She said in an exasperated, breathy voice. "My team got separated in a battle this morning, and I haven't been able to find them." She sighed heavily. "I fear for their safety."

"Don't worry, we'll help you." Another said and began walking towards her.

"Stop!" The one with the eye patch ordered. "She could be leading us into a trap."

'If they only knew.' Shikamaru thought as he drop the hand he was holding up, signaling to Chouji to commence his attack. Shikamaru, himself, wrapped his right hand around the first two fingers of his left and his shadow began to creep towards the unsuspecting target.

The three genin never saw it coming. The first thing they heard was _'Nikudan Sensha'_ as a giant green ball smashed one of them into the ground as it fell from the tree top. Shikamaru winced, wondering how many bones Chouji just broke in that guy's body. Chouji continued to spin as the other two made to escape. The guy with the eye patch, however, found that he was unable to move. Chouji took off after the other one chasing him away from the battle. Behind him, the guy with the eye patch heard, '_Kage Mane no Jutsu…seikou'_.

Ino smiled as she pranced up to the man.

Shikamaru reached behind him, removed his hip pouch and held it out in front of him forcing the man under his technique to do the same.

"Why, thank you very much." Ino said with a wink as she removed the pouch from his grasp.

"You bitch!" He said spitefully wishing he could move right now his hands trying to place a non-existent pouch back on his hip.

Smack! Ino slapped him with her free hand jerking his head to the side.

"Ino!" Came Shikamaru's disgruntled voice.

Ino looked past the man and saw Shikamaru's head in the same position as the man's.

"Oops, gomen." She said with a hint of sincerity.

"Are you ready?" Shikamaru asked as Ino reached in and pulled out both the scroll of Heaven and the scroll of Earth from the man's pouch.

"On my mark," Ino said. "Three…two…one…"

Ino planted a fierce kick up-side the man's head milliseconds after Shikamaru released his technique. The man fell to the ground with a thud.

Ino just giggled as he fell. "We did it." She said to Shikamaru.

"Where's Chouji?" Shikamaru asked in response.

As if on cue, a low rumble could be heard along with the word 'roll' being repeated over and over and over again. Shikamaru could see the remaining shinobi running for his life trying to dodge Chouji's power.

Shikamaru decided to help him out a little. He captured the enemy when he wasn't looking and held him still in front of a tree. Just before Chouji slammed him through the tree, Shikamaru released him and closed his eyes. The force was so strong that the large tree was knocked over in the forest.

"Nice one, Chouji!" Ino congratulated her teammate as he walked dizzily back towards them.

"I think I'm going to throw up." Chouji said covering his mouth.

Shikamaru turned his attention to Ino.

"I'm glad you grabbed both scrolls." Shikamaru said.

"I'm smarter than you think I am, Shikamaru." Ino said tapping a finger against her temple.

"Tch," Shikamaru scoffed. "You should probably give one to Chouji."

Ino looked at him strangely.

"It would protect us if we get split up. That way if one of us gets singled out, they only have one scroll to lose." Shikamaru said.

Ino thought for a second before she pulled the second scroll of Earth out of her own pouch and tossed it to Chouji.

"We should move out before it gets too dark." Ino said looking to the west as the last rays of sunlight crept through the trees.

Chouji and Shikamaru nodded and the three of them leapt off into the forest.

* * *

While they had the scrolls, they weren't exactly finished with the exam just yet. After having slept through the night, they found breakfast in the morning and agreed that they should go back to avoiding conflict. Shikamaru made a point of saving his food so he could give it to Chouji in order to quiet his stomach. They took every precaution to avoid traps and ambushes, but by the end of the third day they had still failed to reach the tower.

Shikamaru climbed to the top of a tree and looked at the tower that was visible in the moon light. It wasn't that far away, less than half a klick.

'Troublesome' thought Shikamaru. He didn't want to put that much effort into this, but the cynic in him chuckled at the irony of the whole situation.

Sighing, he jumped back down and joined his team.

While the distance was short, their slow pace and methodic approach made the last stretch last longer than it should; although, they made it to the tower without confrontation.

Exhausted, tired, and hungry, the three of them made their way into a sealed room. They looked around the rather large room and were mesmerized by the ancient and antique weaponry that adorned the walls. Directly in front of them was a tapestry that held an ancient proverb, which Shikamaru recognized from one of his father's books.

"What do we do now?" Chouji asked.

The room was quiet after that. No one looked at each other, instead choosing to look at the contents of the room. After waiting a few minutes, seeing that no one else was going to offer an answer, Shikamaru made a suggestion.

"Well," He said with no sense of finality. "We made it here, and they said we couldn't open the scrolls till we get here. So…"

"We should open the scrolls!" Ino said spinning around to face Shikamaru. If Chouji was a few inches taller, Ino's hair, which flew out due to centrifugal force, would have decapitated him.

Shikamaru nodded.

Chouji, who was just happy to be out of the forest, collapsed into a sitting position.

Shikamaru pulled out his scroll of Earth, while Ino pulled out her scroll of Heaven. A quick nod to each other, they pulled the scrolls open. Ino held hers away from her as if expecting it to bite her. Shikamaru read over the inscription and gave an inquisitive look.

"A Kuchiyose inscription?" Shikamaru murmured.

Suddenly, both scrolls started to smoke. Ino screamed and dropped her scroll on the ground. Shikamaru set his down and took a step back.

Poof!

A cloud of smoke engulfed the three of them as they began to cough. The smoke began to settle and they could make out one of the chuunin examiners they had scene from the first exam. He was tall. He wore the grey examiners suit, but the most distinguishing feature he had was the bandages that encompassed the top half of his head including his eyes. Shikamaru briefly wondered how he could function as a shinobi without the aid of sight, but if ones ninja senses were good enough, you could operate in complete darkness, although Shikamaru couldn't imagine doing it for the rest of his life.

"Congratulations," He said with a smile. "You passed the second exam."

The three of them had nothing to say. They sat there in silence for a few seconds until Chouji broke the silence.

"I'm so hungry." Chouji grumbled.

The chuunin examiner didn't miss a beat. He turned to Chouji, pulled an apple out of his pocket and threw it to him. Chouji caught and gave the man a big grin before sinking his teeth into the unsuspecting piece of fruit. Shikamaru wondered if the smile was wasted on the blind man.

"My name is Tobitake Tonbo." The chuunin spoke. "Part of my job is to explain some of the things in this room." He proceeded to give a lengthy explanation and the various traditions represented and the reason why the Hokage had the proverb hanging on the wall. When he finished he escorted them out into a hall way.

"Since there is still a little over a day left in the exam, you guys can wait in here. There are rooms with cots if you would like to sleep and…" He turned to face Chouji (How did he know which one was Chouji). "There's supposed to be food around here if you can find it."

He left them and Chouji went on a hunt for food. Ino had her own agenda and Shikamaru didn't care. They were safe and he didn't have to worry about them now. There was one thing on his mind. He wanted to find a place to lie down, specifically with a view of the sky. He glanced down a few hallways until his saw a warm glow, the tell-tale sign of natural light. He shoved his hands in his pockets and began a search for the source.

After a few turns, he found an external wall that held a small window. Even though it was small, it was good enough to see the sky, so Shikamaru lay down on the floor and propped his head up with his hands. He watched as the clouds drifted across the small window and in hardly any time at all, he had fallen asleep.

He was awakened when he felt someone stumble over him. He opened his eyes slowly to reveal the one who interrupted his nap.

"Why you…" She stopped.

It was the Suna konoichi whom he had the unfortunate privilege of running into twice before. Both encounters, she had taken upon herself to berate him, so Shikamaru was fully expecting her to do it again as if it was his fault she didn't notice the young man sleeping in the hallway.

But she didn't. She held her tongue, although her eyes spoke volumes. She was sizing him up. He watched her pupils constrict and expand as his beloved clouds altered the amount of light in the corridor. Her teal eyes hardened and she seemed to be having her own internal conflict which looked like it was coming to a boiling point.

Shikamaru braced himself for a tongue lashing which never came.

She let out a sigh of exasperation before turning and stomping off.

Shikamaru watched her walking away with a confused look on his face. 'What was that all about?" He thought.

"Troublesome woman"

* * *

A/N: Wow that was long.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: I wrote this chapter and It was getting entirely too long so I decided to split it up into two.

Also: Thanks to Big Paja for beta reading it for me.

* * *

Preliminaries

Shit. He felt like shit. He looked like shit and he knew it because Ino had told him that he looked like shit. She looked like shit as well but he would have never told her because he valued his life. The day of rest had not helped them that much. They were still beaten up from the exam and this facility did not have the accoutrements needed to recover.

Shikamaru found that the cots were nothing to write home about, so to speak. The metal bars that supported the thin canvas did more to annoy him than anything else. The floor in the hallway was much more comfortable then the cots. At least, it didn't have metal bars that would poke him annoyingly. On the other hand, if he slept in the hallway, he would probably run into that troublesome Suna kunoichi again, or worse, he might run into her teammates.

Shikamaru waited outside the restroom for Ino, who made it her sanctuary. She spent most of the day there doing whatever it is that women do. After his little run-in with the Suna konoichi, Shikamaru thought it would be best if they stick together but Ino had to seclude herself in the one place neither he nor Chouji could go. She must enjoy making things troublesome.

Chouji had successfully located the food Tonbo was talking about but he had established that it was insufficient to suit his needs. That being so, Chouji still was kind-hearted enough to bring back some food for Shikamaru and Ino. Chouji was really a great guy.

Tonbo approached Shikamaru and Chouji who were leaning against the wall opposite the restroom. Chouji couldn't help to return the smile on Tonbo's face with a huge grin of his own. Shikamaru's ever-present scowl stayed plastered on his face.

"Well, guys," Tonbo said. "It looks like the exam is over. The one hundred and twenty hour time limit is up and all the teams who have passed are meeting in the great hall."

He turned and faced the direction he came from.

"If you would follow me please, I'll…" Tonbo paused. "Where's your third teammate?"

Shikamaru kicked himself off of the wall and let his shoulders slouch forward. Without responding to Tonbo's question, he called towards the restroom.

"Oi, Ino," Shikamaru raised his voice. "It's time to go."

No response.

"Oi, Ino, let's go."

Still no response.

Shikamaru walked up to the restroom door and pushed it open as he called out a third time.

"Oi,…" He stopped when he saw her.

Ino was standing there, looking in the mirror trying desperately to do something with her hair. Five days without shampoo or conditioner, five days without a brush or a hair drier had wreaked havoc on her most precious commodity. She had managed to wash some of the dirt off of her but for the most part it was still evident. She had some on her clothes, her arms and legs, and on her face which she refused to wash because it meant removing her make-up. She'd rather look dirty than look ugly, or at least, that's what she reasoned.

"Ino, it's time to go," Shikamaru said.

Ino squealed and turned to look at him.

"What are you doing in the girl's restroom, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes as his head dropped to his chest. His hand still held the door open.

"Technically," Shikamaru raised his head back up to look at her. "I'm in the doorway."

Shikamaru could see the argument arising in Ino's eyes and cut her off as her mouth opened to speak.

"That's neither here nor there. What's important is that it is time to go." Shikamaru was relieved when she didn't try to argue after that.

Ino looked at him a little confused.

"The second exam is finally finished. They're calling for everyone who passed," Shikamaru answered her unspoken question.

"Oh," Was all she said. After a moment, she readied herself, stood up straight, took a deep breath, and walked towards the door.

Shikamaru held the door open for her because that's what a man was supposed to do, or at least, that's what he told himself. Deep down inside, Shikamaru knew that it was from the years of his mother bitching at him about being respectful towards women and the act had been programmed into his subconscious.

Ino didn't even offer him a thank you, troublesome woman.

Tonbo led them down the hall and through a door that had been previously locked, into the great room. The great room was exactly that, a _great_ room. Shikamaru would even venture to call it an arena and that troubled him. It had two balconies that ran along its length. The back wall had two giant arms protruding from it and the hands were clasped together to form the _hitsuji_ seal, the most commonly used seal. Four huge panels were nestled into the wall, two on either side of the arms. The great room even had a small, elevated stage, and Shikamaru idly wondered who was going to perform.

They saw the other squads who had completed the second exam lined up in formation so they walked over and joined on the very end. Ino, of course, took her place at the front as Shikamaru and Chouji fell in line respectively. Shikamaru could see Asuma standing on the stage with whom he guessed were the Jounin sensei of the other teams. He recognized one of them as Kurenai, the woman who showed up at Asuma's house on occasion. In front of them stood the Sandaime Hokage himself. Shikamaru also recognized Iruka, his academy sensei, Ibiki, the first proctor, as well as Anko, the second, but everyone else there was new to him.

"First off, let me congratulate you on passing the second exam." Anko roared even though she had a headset microphone on.

Chouji's stomach rumbled behind Shikamaru.

"I'm hungry," Chouji groaned.

Shikamaru, who was now scanning the group of participants to his right, had something else on his mind entirely.

"There's still this many people left? How troublesome."

Ino's eyes had been wandering about the room as well and when they landed on something she had been hoping to see, she let out a gasp of joy.

"Sasuke-kun's team passed, too!" She said happily.

"Of course," Shikamaru said looking away. "We went through a lot of trouble helping them and our efforts would have gone to waste if they didn't pass."

After a short outburst from one of the Jounin sensei, who looked a lot like Gejimayu, Anko resumed speaking.

"We will now have an explanation of the third exam from Hokage-sama," Anko barked. "Everyone, listen well."

The Sandaime Hokage stepped forward and coughed into his fist before speaking.

"The third exam will begin, but before the explanation there are a few things I would like to make clear to all of you." The Hokage paused. "It's about the true purpose behind the exam."

Shikamaru briefly ran through a few ulterior motives in his head but shook them off when the Hokage began to speak again.

"Why do we do joint exam with the allied nations?" The Hokage asked rhetorically. "To maintain good relations with the allied nations and heighten the level of shinobi." He quoted the rumors that had been floating around. "Do not let those reasons deceive you."

"This exam is, so to speak…" The Hokage pulled his pipe from his mouth and lowered his head. As he raised his head again, he spoke sternly. "…the epitome of war among allied nations."

"War…" Shikamaru thought. "…between allies?"

"What do you mean?" The konoichi from Gejimayu's team asked.

The Hokage took a drag from his pipe before he explained.

"If we go back through our history, the nations that are currently allies were neighboring countries that fought with each other over and over. To avoid a useless waste of military power, the countries decided to select a location to fight and sent their best to represent their military power. That is were the Chuunin selection exam got its start."

"Why do we have to do that?" Naruto voiced his confusion. "Are we not doing this to select Chuunins?"

"Yes," the Hokage answered. "This exam is going to determine those who are worthy of becoming Chuunin, but it is also an arena where shinobi fight and carry their country's dignity."

"In the third exam," the Hokage continued. "The Daimyo from each country as well as many famous and important people who are potential clients will be attending. Daimyo from countries with hidden villages and shinobi leaders will be observing your battles. If there is a significant difference in power, the strong villages will get flooded with jobs and the weaker ones will see a decrease. If a country shows significant growth compared to a neighboring country, it allows them to put political pressure on them."

"So, why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?" Kiba spoke up this time.

The Hokage looked at him with a straight face revealing nothing. He wanted his answer to be taken seriously. He took a breath before he spoke.

"A country's power is the village's power. A village's power is the shinobi's power. A shinobi's true power is born only in a life-or-death battle. Since you will be fighting for your life, your battles will have meaning, and your predecessors have fought and dreamed to be in the Chuunin exam because of it."

"But…" Gejimayu's teammate spoke up again. "Why did you say it was to promote good relations?"

A small scowl wrinkled the Hokage's face.

"I told you when I began not to get the two things confused." He sounded disappointed. "The custom of risking one's life and fighting to maintain balance is good relations in the shinobi world. This is a life-or-death battle for your dreams and your country's dignity."

"I don't care," the Suna shinobi with the gourd on his back spoke. "Just tell me the details of this life-or-death exam."

"Well, then…" the Hokage spoke. "I will now begin the explanation of the third exam, but…"

The Hokage coughed, releasing some phlegm from his throat. One of the Konoha shinobi who was standing in the row in front of him jumped over and bowed respectfully.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama…" he said. "I, Gekkou Hayate, the proctor, will explain."

He stood up and threw a look over his shoulder at the Genin.

"Everyone, it's nice to meet you," Hayate said. He coughed heavily. "Before the third exam…" He coughed again. "There is something I would like you to do." He went into a coughing fit.

Shikamaru was glad he was a good distance away from the man because he was afraid he would catch whatever was ailing him.

By the time he had finished coughing he had turned completely around to face them.

"I need you to fight in some preliminary matches to determine who goes on to the third exam's main matches."

"Preliminaries?" Sakura whispered questioningly.

"Preliminaries!" Shikamaru all but yelled. "What do you mean?"

"Sensei," Sakura spoke up this time. "I don't understand what you mean by preliminary matches."

Shikamaru understood what preliminary matches were but he wasn't sure why they were being asked to do them now.

"Why can't we just start the third exam with the remaining examinees?" Sakura asked.

Hayate sighed. "Well, in this case, it must have been that the first and second exams were too easy, I don't know…but there are too many examinees left. According to exam regulations, we need to decrease the number of participants for the third exam."

"Oh, no!" Sakura protested.

Shikamaru felt his willingness to participate in this endeavor dwindling. When all eyes turned to Sakura after her little outburst, Shikamaru was glad he had kept his further protests to himself.

"As previously mentioned by Hokage-sama, there are many important guests attending the third exam, so we just won't be able to hold a lot of matches. We are limited on time as well, so those of you who aren't feeling well…" Hayate burst into a coughing fit again.

Shikamaru smirked to himself at the irony of the situation.

"Excuse me." He coughed one more time. "If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation, please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately."

"Immediately?!" Kiba yelled.

"We just finished the second exam," Ino whined. Her shoulders slumped forward. Shikamaru thought briefly that he was rubbing off on her.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "How troublesome."

"Eh?" Chouji grumbled. "What about the meal?"

Everyone else remained silent. When it appeared that all protest were voiced, Hayate continued.

"Uh, I forgot to mention, but all matches from here on out are going to be one on one. Please, withdraw if you wish to."

He remained quiet. After a few moments, some discussion could be heard among team members. Ino turned around to face Shikamaru. She seemed to have something to say but she never said it. Shikamaru didn't need her to say anything because he already knew what she was going to say. This was his opportunity to get out without affecting the team. She was wondering if he really was going to leave.

Shikamaru thought about it for a moment. He looked around at all of his potential opponents. The Suna shinobi with the gourd on his back looked dangerous not to mention the few encounters Shikamaru had had with him already left a bad taste in his mouth. That guy was bad news. The Oto shinobi who manipulated the sound with his chakra would be tough, but if the fight didn't last too long Shikamaru could probably outsmart him. He knew nothing about the older Konoha Genin. Sasuke was a big question mark. He never thought Sasuke had that kind of power, and the strange markings on his body seemed to be responsible for it. Shikamaru wondered if that was part of the Uchiha ability. If so, Shikamaru did not want to find out the hard way, he thought as he glanced at the Oto shinobi whose arms Sasuke snapped. Kiba was wild which meant he would fall into pretty much any trap Shikamaru set, but Kiba's teammate, the tall, quiet one with the sunglasses, was an unknown. Shikamaru didn't like unknowns. Finally, there were his teammates. Shikamaru knew them and their abilities all too well. Of course, they knew him in the same regard. If he had to face either one, he would probably just give up out of courtesy. Everyone else, he was pretty sure he could handle.

After rolling the thoughts around in his mind for a minute, he decided that it would be best to take a wait-and-see approach. Find out who he would have to face, and when it came down to it, he could make the right decision.

"I'll quit." Kabuto raised his hand.

Shikamaru wondered why he would quit. He had already taken it six times and he was giving up on the last exam. Shikamaru couldn't help but question his own decision after seeing a veteran retire from the exam.

There were whispers among the crowd.

"Let's see." Hayate coughed. "You're Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-kun?" He flipped through a chart he had in his hand. "Alright, you may leave, then."

"Hai," Kabuto said as he turned to walk away.

"Kabuto-san?" Naruto questioned loudly. "Why are you quitting?" He clenched his fist in anger. "Nan de, dattebayo?"

"I'm Sorry, Naruto-kun." Kabuto paused and turned to look at Naruto. "My body is completely worn out already. Even before the first exam when I had that quarrel with the Oto shinobi, I've been unable to hear out of my left ear. I can't fight right now, especially if it is life-or-death."

His statement seemed to cast a gloomy shadow over the group, or at least the rookies. They have never been in a situation like this before. Each one, individually, gave themselves a gut check.

Shikamaru took Kabuto's words to heart but he himself was not completely worn out. He had an extra day to rest so his chakra wasn't low. He avoided any major physical battles so his body wasn't torn up. Even though he was tired, he knew he could continue with his plan with certainty.

As they watched Kabuto walk away, their attention was drawn back by another cough from Hayate.

"May I assume that there are no more people who wish to retire?"

Silence greeted him. Suddenly, Naruto's team broke out into a whispered discussion. Everyone else remained looking forward and kept quiet until their discussion ended.

"Then, let's begin the preliminary matches." He paused and looked over the group. "It will be one on one and it will be like real combat. Now that we have exactly twenty people, there will be ten matches, and the winners will be able to advance to the third exam."

Everyone listened intently.

"There are no rules." Hayate continued. "You will fight until the other person dies, gets knocked out, or admits defeat. If you do not want to die, then give up immediately." He paused. "However, if I judge that the match is over, I may stop the match to prevent any unnecessary deaths."

Death was not a viable option for Shikamaru. He was a little relieved that they had such safeguards in place but he would never put his life in the hands of someone else. If it came down to it, Shikamaru would be the first to make the call.

"The thing that will hold your destiny…" Hayate turned back to Anko.

Anko said something into here microphone and one of the huge panels in the wall behind the statue began to rise. As it rose, it revealed a dark screen. The sound of the panel locking into place echoed through the quiet great room.

"…is this" Hayate finished. "The electric bulletin board will randomly display the names of the two fighters for each match."

Hayate turned back around to face the Genin.

"Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."

Everyone watched the giant screen flash yellow before randomly running through hiragana characters. The tension in the room grew higher as the annoying polyphony of the electronic billboard undulated along with the names of the participants. Then suddenly, it stopped locking in the two names of the first contestants.

Akadou Yoroi vs. Uchiha Sasuke

'Whew,' Shikamaru thought. At least, he didn't have to go first.

"Those whose names are displayed, step up," Hayate said.

The two of them stepped out of line and walked towards him.

"The first match's fighters are," he said with an air of completion. "Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke."

The two fighters squared off to face each other.

"Are there any objections?" Hayate asked them.

"No," came their individual responses.

"We will now begin the first match," Hayate announced. "Everyone other than the two fighters please move up there." He referred to the two balconies on either side of the great room.

Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji turned and walked up the stairs closest to them and they were followed by the rest of the first-timers. Ino stopped about mid-way on the balcony and Shikamaru thought it would be a good spot to view the fights from. The rest of the Genin filled in around them. Soon, the sensei's joined their respective teams.

"Asuma-sensei!" Ino called happily when she saw him.

He smiled down at the members of team ten.

"You guys did very well," He said.

Shikamaru could detect a hint of surprise in his voice. 'I knew he didn't expect us to get this far', Shikamaru thought to himself.

"Thank you, Asuma-sensei," Chouji said with a grin.

Ino smiled at him, too.

Shikamaru, however, kept a blank face. Asuma was always trying to encourage them to do more and Shikamaru was not that naïve. He turned and leaned on the railing to watch the fight.

The fight began and Shikamaru kept a close eye on Sasuke. Shikamaru had been both afraid and curious about the strange power the last of the Uchiha had displayed during the second exam. This fight, however, was an entirely different story. Sasuke seemed to be dodging for his life. Even when it looked like he had the upper hand, Yoroi just had to touch him with his hand and it seemed like the energy was draining out of Sasuke.

Sasuke dodged a few more times and then stumbled. He turned and tried to land a quick hit which Yoroi easily dodged, putting some distance between the two of them.

"Sasuke," Naruto yelled from the balcony. "You call yourself Uchiha Sasuke with that?"

Sasuke turned around and looked at Naruto.

"You're acting like an idiot!" Naruto yelled. "Get serious!"

Sasuke continued to stare in Naruto's direction.

Yoroi re-activated his technique and began charging at Sasuke. Sasuke turned around just in time to dodge another series of attacks. For a second, Yoroi hesitated, and that was all that Sasuke need.

Sasuke moved in a flash. It was a blur to the naked eye and Yoroi never saw it coming.

Crack!

Sasuke's left foot connected with Yoroi's jaw from underneath, sending him flying through the air. In a swift motion, Sasuke leapt into the air and into place behind Yoroi.

_Kage Buyou_

Just when Shikamaru thought Sasuke was about to make his move, Sasuke's body tensed and the strange markings began to crawl across his skin. Shikamaru stood up from the railing in anticipation. He'd seen this power in action before, and judging from the condition of the Oto shinobi in the balcony across the room, it did not bode well for Yoroi.

Suddenly, the markings began to move backwards to a point on Sasuke's neck where they ended up in three teardrop shapes. Confused by this, Shikamaru tried to recall ever seeing the mark on Sasuke's neck beforehand.

The thought was dropped when Sasuke made his move. The first strike was blocked, but the remaining consecutive hits landed. Sasuke finished in a flourish with a huge spinning kick that struck Yoroi, driving him into the ground harder.

_Shi Shi Rendan_

Sasuke slid backwards across the ground after the last hit landed. Yoroi lay still in the crack in the stone floor created by the attack. Sasuke sat up slowly as Hayate moved over and knelt down to check on Yoroi.

"I will stop this match now," Hayate said standing back up. "The first match winner is Uchiha Sasuke."

"Yatta!" Naruto screamed.

Shikamaru was a little surprised. Sasuke was losing badly, and when it looked like he was going to pull out his trump card, he didn't. Instead, he swung the tide of the match with a creative combo which left Shikamaru wondering about two things. What is Sasuke truly capable of, and is Sasuke physically and mentally stable? Something that powerful in the hands of the wrong person spelled out doom.

Sasuke began to fall backwards when his sensei appeared and propped him up with his knee.

"Sasuke!" Naruto laughed. "You won in such an idiotic way! You're all worn out, baka!"

Sasuke mumbled something under his breath, probably cursing Naruto.

Yoroi got carried off on a stretcher and Sasuke walked out of the room under his own power.

"Now, we will begin the next match," Hayate announced and everyone's attention was drawn back to the large, electronic billboard.

Zaku Abumi vs. Aburame Shino

The Oto shinobi whose arms were broken and Kiba's teammate, the tall one with sunglasses, made their way to the middle of the arena.

"Fighters, step up," Hayate said and both shinobi approached each other. "We will now begin the second match. Begin."

The two shinobi exchanged words before Zaku pulled his left arm out of the sling and prepared himself to fight. He ran towards Shino and moved to strike only to have Shino guard it with one arm. The two exchanged words again before Zaku screamed and blew Shino back with air from his palm. Shino settled in a cloud of dust.

"Come on, get up!" Zaku taunted, but his confidence waned in the sound of hundreds of thousands of tiny legs crawling across the surfaces of the room echoing in the silence.

Shino stood up and when the smoke cleared, revealed the source of the sound. Countless bugs crawled out from underneath his skin and made their way down his body to the floor where they spread out and moved around surrounding their target.

Ino gasped next to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru never knew someone like that existed.

"What kind of trick are you trying to pull?" Zaku said.

Then he noticed the swarm of bugs crawling up behind him.

Shino spoke to him calmly in a low voice that Shikamaru couldn't quite hear, but judging by Zaku's reaction, Shino probably gave him an ultimatum. Shino raised his hands slowly in the _tora_ seal, as if preparing for a technique.

Zaku seemed to be pondering the situation pretty hard, looking constantly between Shino and the bugs before off into nothing. He finally snapped out of the trance and let out a loud yell. He pointed his left fist at Shino before opening his hand to reveal the air hole in his palm.

"Don't underestimate me!" He yelled as he flailed his right arm from the sling and held it out rigidly towards the bugs.

His right hand opened to reveal the air hole.

Shikamaru thought he made an amazing recovery or was, at least, willing his body to move through the pain.

Zaku smiled as he mumbled something to Shino who lowered his hands at the sight.

Zaku screamed once again as he tried to force air through the holes in his palms, but no air ever came.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and leaned in because he thought he saw Zaku's forearms beginning to bulge. Shikamaru leaned in a little further and his forearms were now swollen. Shikamaru furrowed his brow in contemplation.

Zaku let out another scream, this time more in pain than frustration. His swollen arms were stretched to their limits and flesh and bone can only hold out for so long. He tried again to force the blocked air ways open.

Zaku's forearms exploded in a mix of blood, tissue and cartilage.

Shikamaru shot backwards and his eyes opened in surprise.

Ino turned her whole head away and covered her face with her hands to keep any more of the unwanted image out of her mind.

The sound of Chouji's stomach, which had been growling throughout the fight, was replaced with the sound of pre-vomit gurgles and swallows.

Shikamaru, who was the only one of the three still watching, saw that Zaku's arms, from just below the elbow down, were missing. A quick glance found them lying on the floor.

Shino moved in behind and spoke in a low tone to Zaku who was staring at his newly dismembered arms.

Zaku screamed in frustration and spun around to kick Shino who countered with a strong backhand that sent Zaku flying.

Hayate walked over to Zaku who was lying on the ground motionless. He looked at Zaku's arms and then up to his face as he let out a gasp of pain. Hayate stood up and sighed.

"This match is over." Hayate turned to Shino. "The winner, Aburame Shino."

The medical team came in at a hurried pace. Two of them ran over and quickly placed Zaku onto a stretcher before picking him up and hauling him out of the room. The third bent down and looked at the arms that lay in a bloody mess on the floor. He shook his head as he picked up one in each hand and followed after the other two.

"Is it ok to look?" Ino asked after Shikamaru visibly relaxed.

"Hai," he said in a soft flat tone.

"What the hell!" Naruto yelled. "Shino, were you really that strong?"

Shino ignored the comment and walked right by him to join his team.

"Um," Hayate called out from the middle of the arena. "I would like to move on to the next match, now."

A puff of smoke signaled the return of Naruto's sensei but everyone other than team seven had their eyes glued to the electronic billboard.

Misumi Tsurugi vs. Kankurou

The last remaining guy from Kabuto's team and the Suna shinobi who wore face paint faced each other in the center of the arena. The two exchanged the usual bullshit bravado before they took their battle stance. Kankurou removed the mummified object from his back and steadied it on the ground with his right hand.

Hayate signaled for the third match to begin and Misumi wasted no time. He moved quickly and before Kankurou could react, he wrapped his arms and legs around his body like a boa constrictor slowly applying more and more pressure trying to squeeze the life out of its prey. Kankurou released his grip on his mummified tool and it fell to the ground.

Shikamaru was amazed someone could move like that. He had never seen anything like it before.

Misumi kept squeezing, all the while encouraging Kankurou to give up. Kankurou was being stubborn, trading remarks with Misumi. Eventually, Kankurou pushed it a little too far, Misumi squeezed a little too hard, and Kankurou's neck got snapped in the process.

A few gasps could be heard around the room as it fell silent to the sounds of vertebrae snapping.

Hayate moved like he was going to declare the match when he paused.

Kankurou's head spun one hundred eighty degrees and was now facing Misumi. The look of shock on Misumi's face was mirrored by most everyone in the room. Kankurou's clothes were shed to reveal a wooden creature with six arms. The arms wrapped around Misumi and squeezed him back.

The mummified tool that had fallen to the ground earlier unraveled itself to reveal the original Kankurou. Strings of chakra emanated from his left hand as he willed the mechanism to apply more pressure. After a few moments, Misumi and the wooden creature fell over with a thud.

"Since his opponent is no longer able to fight," Hayate spoke up. "The winner is Kankurou."

"Two against one is unfair." Naruto loudly complained to his sensei. "Is that allowed? Ne, Kakashi-sensei?"

Shikamaru couldn't hear Kakashi's muffled reply.

"That's the Puppet technique," Sakura said loud and proud. "He controlled the doll with his chakra. It's merely a tool, like a shuriken."

'_Kugutsu no Jutsu_', Shikamaru thought. He had heard of it but had never seen it in practice. He thought it was an old ninja art that had long since died out but here was a practicing shinobi who used it to its fullest advantage.

While they were cleaning up Misumi, Shikamaru noticed Ino sneaking away to the restroom right after he saw Sakura head in that direction. He sighed. Ino was going to stir some shit up again. He scratched his head. 'What a pain.'

The medical squad carried Misumi off and a couple of Chuunin examiners walked around, looking for debris that may become hazardous.

"Moving on," Hayate spoke as the examiners walked away. "We will now begin the fourth match."

Once again, all eyes turned towards the electronic billboard running randomly through the fourteen remaining candidates. It chirped as it locked the two names in, and Shikamaru's jaw dropped wide open. Shikamaru turned to see Ino walking back in from the restroom. When she noticed people looking at her, she looked up to the billboard and a sudden realization hit her.

Yamanaka Ino vs. Haruno Sakura

Ino narrowed her eyes in the direction of Sakura. Shikamaru couldn't see her face but she looked away from Ino like she was intimidated. The two girls made their way to the center of the arena and exchanged unpleasantries.

"Out of all the possible combinations, it chose those two." Shikamaru complained. "This sure is objectionable."

"Will Ino be alright?" Chouji asked through his muffler.

"Sakura-chan, do your best!" Naruto shouted. "Don't lose!"

"Begin," Hayate signaled.

Neither fighter hesitated, charging right in at each other. A few hasty taijutsu moves that were easily dodged or guarded were thrown until Sakura leapt backwards and threw three kunai at Ino. Ino sidestepped the first one, deftly caught the second one, and threw it to deflect the third one.

"Just as I thought," Chouji said.

"Sakura-chan has the advantage," Naruto said without turning to see Chouji.

"Baka," Shikamaru drawled.

"Nan da to?" Naruto tore his eyes away from the fight to look at Shikamaru.

"Are you even watching the same match as everyone else?" Shikamaru asked.

"Why.." Naruto started.

"They're kunoichi, after all. Their physical combat skills are lower than normal." Hyuuga Neji spoke up from behind Naruto, grabbing his attention.

"Ehh!" Naruto spun around ready to give Neji a piece of his mind.

"It's not because they're kunoichi," Neji's konoichi teammate said angrily. "Those two are just soft on each other. Sex doesn't matter in battle."

Naruto looked around confused. "Soft…" he repeated.

The battle moved forward. They continued on with taijutsu until Ino managed to land a punch to the abdomen, causing Sakura to flinch just long enough for Ino to come in with a right hook. At the last second though, Ino opened her fist and ended up slapping Sakura across the face. Both fighters froze.

The slap echoed through the room, making the strike sound a lot harder than it actually was. The two fighters stared at each other. Ino looked down at her hand in disbelief. After Sakura recomposed herself, she spoke.

"Now that it's come to this," Sakura clenched her fist. "I have no intention of fighting with you over Sasuke-kun."

"What!" Ino sounded surprised.

"Sasuke-kun and you just don't match," Sakura said loudly. "I am stronger than you now. You're not good enough to be a rival," Sakura spit it out laced with hatred.

"Sakura," Ino was pissed. Shikamaru shuddered at the familiar feeling of Ino's killer intent. "Who do you think you're talking to like that? Crybaby, Sakura!"

Sakura stared at Ino contemplating her next move.

Sakura reached up and pulled her Hitai-ite out of her hair and placed it on her forehead. Ino followed suit, pulling hers from her waist and tying it around her head.

They both charged in at each other. Sakura quickly ran through four hand seals and created two bunshin. Ino stopped her advance, concentrating hard. All three Sakuras made consecutive moves finishing with a strong punch in Ino's face, sending her flying backwards and tumbling on the ground.

Sakura stood there breathing hard.

"If you still take me as crybaby Sakura, you're going to get hurt," she shouted to Ino who was still lying on the ground. "Fight me seriously, Ino."

Ino slowly stood up and wiped some saliva from her cheek.

"I'm so glad to hear that," Ino yelled back. "I'll give you everything I've got, at your request."

The fight carried on. Their movements equal. The time flew by and both began to grow weary. Their movements slowed and their attacks got weaker. In a moment of anticipation, both of them moved in for a strike leaving themselves unguarded. They struck each other in the face and the blow sent both of them flying backwards in opposite directions.

Both of them stood up. Now there was a good distance between them.

"There's no way you're as strong as me!" Ino shouted.

"Ha!" Sakura laughed. "There's no way a slovenly person like you, who spends too much time on her appearance and hair, is my equal."

Ino reached into her holster and pulled out a kunai. The anger that radiated off of her filled the room.

'This is not good,' Shikamaru thought. 'Ino's pissed and she'll probably do something stupid.'

"Don't underestimate me!" Ino yelled.

"Baka," Shikamaru whispered to no one in particular. "Ino's taking the insults seriously, and now, we don't know what she's going to do."

"I don't like Ino acting that way," Chouji added.

Ino slowly drew the kunai up to her ponytail.

Sakura's eyes slowly grew wider in anticipation.

Ino flicked the sharp edge of the kunai through her shiny, blonde hair and separating her long ponytail from her head.

Everyone was surprised.

"You're pretty simpleminded," Sakura laughed.

'Shit', Shikamaru thought. 'She's totally lost it.'

Ino screamed in frustration, holding her recently detached hair in her hand.

"Fuck this," she threw the hair in the air and it fell down in the gap between her and Sakura.

Ino slapped her hands together in a seal.

"I going to end this right now my making you say, I give up."

"Wait, is she going to…" Shikamaru questioned.

"Is she…" Chouji voiced.

Ino threw her hands out in front with her fingers in the shape of a box.

"Just as I thought," Shikamaru said. "She's going to try the mind transfer."

"Geez, what an idiot," Asuma said as he rubbed the frustration out of his face.

"I know you're in a hurry," Sakura said. "But I can easily dodge that technique."

"So what!" Ino yelled back. "You won't know until I actually try!"

"It's the end if you miss," Sakura said. "Understand."

'During battle, Ino is only supposed to use that technique when I hold the enemy still with mine,' Shikamaru thought. 'It's impossible.'

Sakura made her move.

"Baka, stop!" Shikamaru shouted to Ino.

"_Ninpou, Shintenshin no Jutsu._"

Both girls slumped over. Ino's body fell to its knees. Everyone stared wondering what happened.

Sakura's body began to laugh.

"Nice try," Sakura said. "Ino."

"There's nothing more she can do. It's over," Shikamaru said.

"She screwed up," Chouji added.

"It's over now," Sakura announced.

She tried to move forward only to realize she was stuck.

Shikamaru smirked. Ino had set up a trap.

"You fell right into my trap, Sakura," Ino said victoriously. "I finally caught you. Now, the match will be over. I definitely won't miss."

Ino molded her chakra again and put her hands out in front of her.

"That idiot was just acting like she was mad," Shikamaru pointed out.

"Run, Sakura-chan, Run!" Naruto screamed.

Sakura tried to force herself to move but Ino's chakra rope wouldn't allow it.

_Shintenshin no Jutsu_

Everyone looked on as Sakura's body relaxed and Ino's body fell limp again.

Sakura laughed again. "Nice try…"

"She missed," Chouji said in disbelief.

"No," Shikamaru corrected him.

"Sakura," Sakura said as she lifted her head. Sakura had a big smirk on her face.

"Beat her up, Sakura-chan." Naruto cheered.

'She can't,' Shikamaru thought.

Naruto's sensei explained exactly what was going on to Naruto and Gejimayu.

Sakura raised her hand. "I, Haruno Sakura, will…give…"

"No!!!" Naruto yelled. "Sakura-chan, you've come a long way to get here. It's going to be a disgrace if you lose to that Sasuke-obsessed freak."

"It's useless telling me that right now," Sakura told him.

All of a sudden Sakura's body shook. She began to cringe and she pulled her hands to her head in pain.

"Sakura," Sakura said. "This can't be…" Sakura looked as if she was writhing around, fighting against some unknown force.

"What's it going to be?" Hayate asked. "Are you going to give up?"

Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs. "There's no way I'm going to give up!"

"What happened to Ino?" Shikamaru asked.

Sakura's hands slowly pulled away from her head and then interlaced in front of her.

"Kai!"

Sakura collapsed to the ground.

Ino's body re-animated.

"You have two minds?" Ino gasped for breath. "Who are you?"

"I have strength to match my beauty," Sakura was equally out of breath. "A girl has got to be strong to survive."

Once both girls caught their breath, they stood up and charged each other with the last of their energy. Putting everything they had into attack, neither considered defending against the other, only hoping that their attack would land first.

Fists connected with faces. Blood was spat from mouths like a stream of water. Hitai-ite were loosened and fell to the ground. With the massive show of force, they sent the other flying backwards. Both tried to rise, but their bodies were weak and gave up. They passed out cold.

Hayate looked form Sakura to Ino. Neither showed signs of moving.

"Both are unable to fight," Hayate spoke. "Due to a double knock-out, no one passes the fourth preliminary match."

Asuma and Kakashi both went down to the arena and retrieved their respective students, bringing them back to the balcony.

"Oi, Ino!" Shikamaru called as he and Chouji ran to where Asuma and Kakashi laid the girls against the wall.

"Sakura-san," Gejimayu called as he did the same.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, sounding the most concerned. "Daijoubu ka?"

Kakashi turned around and held an index finger to his lips to silence him.

Asuma stood up after looking over the girls.

"They don't even need medical treatment," He said. "They'll wake up in a bit."

Shikamaru could only look down with a smile. Ino had actually impressed him. She came up with her own plan and executed it. She even set up a trap and lured her opponent into it. He couldn't think of a better plan himself.

The sound of the electronic billboard shuffling through the remaining opponents caught their attention again.

Tenten vs. Temari

Gejimayu's kunoichi teammate and the Suna kunoichi both entered the arena.

"Fifth match, Tenten and Temari, please step forward," Hayate said.

The kunoichi stepped in, about a meter apart.

"Sunagakure's second opponent…" Neji said. Shikamaru couldn't hear the rest of the sentence due to Gejimayu's yelling.

"Do your best, Tenten!"

Each fighter stared the other down intently.

"Begin," Hayate said.

Tenten immediately noticed something and jumped back to a safe distance.

"Fight, Tenten!" Gejimayu yelled.

"Believe in your power of youth, Tenten!" Her sensei cheered.

"Tenten, we're with you!" Gejimayu yelled. "Fight with everything you have!"

"That's it!" Her sensei cheered, throwing his fist in the air. "Show your spirit."

"Osu!" Gejimayu agreed whole-heartedly.

The yelling continued much to Naruto's annoyance but Shikamaru was getting tired. After the last fight, he was growing quite bored with this whole endeavor, and he wasn't sure if he could stay awake through another drawn out kunoichi fight. He let out a yawn.

"Go, go!" The cheering section continued.

After a minute neither fighter made a move.

"Doushita?" Hayate asked. "Please, begin."

The kunoichi exchanged a few brief words before Tenten yelled as she leapt in the air.

"Then I'll go without hesitation." She released four shuriken.

The shuriken flew at Temari who made a quick move that looked like a flinch. The shuriken stuck in the floor around her.

"I missed?" Tenten said astounded. "That can't be!"

"Doushita!" Temari teased. "Was that attack just to test me, or did you shrink up with fear and lost your aim?"

Tenten gasped at her remark.

"I thought I would have more fun, but it seems I can't expect much out of you," Temari said.

"That can't be!" Gejimayu exclaimed. "Tenten's attack missed?"

"That's impossible," His sensei said. "Tenten can hit a target one hundred times in one hundred tries."

"There's no way she can miss," Neji added.

"Yes," their sensei continued. "She didn't miss. She was forced to miss."

Shikamaru put all the information together in his head.

"How unsightly," Shikamaru mumbled his thoughts to no one. "Suna wins again."

"We don't know that yet!" Naruto, who had moved closer to Shikamaru to get away from the cheering Tenten fans, corrected.

Shikamaru turned to look at him and spoke calmly. "I know."

"Nande, how do you know?" Naruto demanded. "Explain it to me so that I'll understand."

"Baka," Shikamaru drawled, turning his head back to the fight. "I'm not going to do such a troublesome thing."

"If Shikamaru says it, then that's what will happen." Chouji always had Shikamaru's back.

"I don't understand these guys," Naruto mumbled behind them but Shikamaru didn't care.

Temari reached for her fan. Tenten moved into action circling her opponent. She leapt into the air and flipped while unfurling a scroll. Breaking into a tight spin, she released a frenzy of blades at her opponent. Temari made a quick move again, and all the blades fell onto the floor around her.

Temari held her fan, partially open, to the floor beside her. One purple dot was visible.

"This is the first star." Temari told her. "There's two more. When you see three stars, you're going to lose."

Tenten looked frustrated.

"Tenten," Gejimayu shouted. "Don't let the enemy make you go at her pace! Stay Calm!"

Tenten closed her eyes for a second to think. When she opened them, she reached into her pouch with her left hand and pulled out two scrolls which she held in front of her.

"I can't believe she's going to use it, already," Gejimayu's sensei said.

"What's she going to do with those scrolls?" Naruto, who had moved back toward the cheering section, asked.

Tenten held one scroll out in each hand. She knelt down and placed the narrow end of each scroll on the ground.

"No matter what you try, it's useless," Temari reminded her.

Tenten let go of the scrolls, leaving them to balance and quickly ran through some hand seals.

_Soushouryuu_

An explosion of smoke filled the arena, causing everyone to guard their eyes. Out of the smoke rose two streams shaped like dragons. The smoke faded away, revealing two unraveled scrolls. Tenten leapt out of the smoke and up between the scrolls grabbing weapon after weapon and throwing it at Temari.

"Second star!" Temari yelled as she picked up the fan and spun in a circle, deflecting the weapons away.

The scrolls landed and Tenten followed shortly after.

"I'm not done yet," Tenten screamed as she took to the air again.

She grabbed a bunch of strings that were attached to the weapons and pulled them into the air with her, before unleashing another attack on Temari.

Temari opened her fan fully and let out a gust of wind forceful enough to blow back the weapons and Tenten. Temari finished her swing and held the fan up behind her back making her look like a male peacock.

"Third star," she said before swirling her fan around her and disappearing.

Tenten looked around for her but didn't see her.

"Where is she?" Tenten asked.

"Here," Temari yelled and everyone looked up to see her gliding on her fan.

Temari glided over Tenten and landed in front of her. She caught her fan and narrowed her sights on Tenten.

_Ninpou Kamaitachi_

Temari swung her fan back and forth in Tenten's direction. A whirlwind formed and lifted Tenten into the air. The wind was cutting, tearing into Tenten's clothes and flesh. The howling wind made it impossible to hear anything else.

Eventually, Tenten floated out of the whirlwind and plummeted to the ground. Temari closed her fan and held it out away from her to make Tenten fall harshly onto the narrow end. Tenten spit up blood on impact.

"How cruel," Naruto broke the silence.

Gejimayu whispered Tenten's name.

"That was boring," Temari said nonchalantly. "Very boring."

"She neutralized all of Tenten's weapon attacks," Gejimayu's sensei recalled.

"This can't be…" Gejimayu said.

"What is she?" Naruto asked.

'Well, she talks the talk,' Shikamaru thought. 'And she walks the walk.'

"It's just as Shikamaru said," Chouji pointed out. "Suna wins."

Shikamaru sighed. "That's why I said it."

"The fifth match winner," Hayate said. "Temari"

Temari gave an evil grin that Gejimayu didn't like.

"Oh, no."

He jumped down in the arena just in time to catch Tenten's body as Temari hurled it through the air.

Temari scowled at him. "Nice catch."

"Why did you do that?" Gejimayu demanded. "Is that something you would do to someone who has fought their hardest?"

Temari slammed her fan on the ground. "Shut up. Take that piece of trash and leave."

Angry, Gejimayu laid Tenten down and sprinted towards Temari.

"Stop, Lee!" Neji yelled.

Lee leapt into the air with a spinning kick.

_Konoha Senpuu_

Temari held up her fan and stopped his kick cold.

"Nani?" Lee asked.

She whispered something to Lee who took offense.

"Stop, Lee," His sensei said as he leapt down into the arena after him.

"Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed.

Temari looked pissed.

"Temari," The Suna shinobi with the gourd strapped to his back called. "Come back here. You won. Stop dealing with that ugly guy who's with his guardian."

Lee just stared up at the Suna shinobi who stared calmly off at nothing.

Gai tried to calm Lee down before addressing the Suna shinobi.

"Suna no shinobi," Gai said calmly. "If I may warn you of one thing, he's strong. You better be prepared for it."

The Suna shinobi narrowed his eyes at him.

"He's picking a fight with the guys from Suna?" Shikamaru heard Kiba ask from behind him. "I never want to fight him."

Shikamaru hasn't seen the Suna shinobi fight but he knew the guy was dangerous from the moment he met him.

"Don't lose to them, Naruto," Sakura's voice broke the quiet tension.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said surprised. "Daijoubu na no?"

"Don't worry about that," she scolded. "Worry about yourself."

"Uh, me!" Naruto began checking himself. "I'm not hurt."

"That's not it," she returned. "If you lose here, you're going to be a disgrace. You won't be able to face Sasuke-kun."

"Oh."

Shikamaru groaned. Their stupid arguing was keeping him awake. Shikamaru let out a yawn before turning his head to the sound of the electronic billboard again.

Naruto and Lee were chanting vigorously in an effort to have their names drawn next. Shikamaru knew it didn't matter how much you wished it to happen. Your number was decided by a complex algorithm. When it was your time, it was your time. He stifled another yawn.

Nara Shikamaru vs. Kin Tsuchi

'It's my time,' Shikamaru thought as he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked down the stairs to the arena.

"Me, eh?" Shikamaru mumbled to Hayate in the center of the arena.

"Shikamaru, don't lose!" Ino yelled. "Show us that you're a man."

"Hai, hai," he mumbled to no one in particular.

"Beat the other guy up with a sixteen hit combo! Go, Shikamaru! Win!"

Kin made her way down to the arena.

"Shikamaru, beat her up!" Ino's cheerleading was giving him a headache.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled as Kin stood across from him. "On top of that, it's going to be tough dealing with a girl."

"Then I'll end the match quickly," she sounded pissed for some reason Shikamaru couldn't fathom.

'I do know the abilities of the Oto shinobi from are run-in in the second exam,' Shikamaru thought. 'But I never got to see her technique. Plus, she's already seen mine.'

"The sixth match…" Hayate said.

'I only have…' Shikamaru thought.

"Shikamaru vs. Kin," Hayate signaled. "Begin."

"…this." Shikamaru said as he wrapped his right hand around the first two fingers of his left in front of him.

"You can only use one thing, baka." Kin teased.

"Shut up," Shikamaru told her. Damn woman.

_Ninpou Kage Mane no Jutsu _

Shikamaru's shadow stretched out away from him.

"As long as I watch your shadow's movement, I've got nothing to fear from this technique," Kin said, jumping sideways to dodge his shadow and throwing something at him.

Shikamaru heard the sound of bells and ducked the senbon, letting them fly over his head and stick in the wall. Shikamaru looked back at the bells hanging on the senbon and remember something his father told him about.

"Ha!" He laughed, standing up to face her. "That sure is a classic trick. Next, you'll throw a senbon with a bell and one without, no? If I react to the sound of the bell and dodge it, I'm not going to notice the one without, and it will hit me. Right?"

"You talk too much!" She yelled, making a move and throwing two senbon at him.

He dodged them easily.

"I'll just have to be careful and not fall for your Shadow Senbon technique," he said to himself while dodging.

The sound of the bells behind him caught his attention.

"Nani? Ushiro."

He turned around and saw the bells moving. He caught a glimpse of light reflecting off a couple of thin strings. He heard the sound of senbon being drawn from a holster.

"Shit." He spun around.

"Too late," she yelled as she launched two at once.

He barely had enough time to bring his arms up to guard. The senbon struck his right arm and he fell backwards.

"Shikamaru!" Ino yelled.

Shikamaru stood up and looked at the senbon sticking out of his arm.

"I managed to avoid a critical hit," he said as he jerked the senbon out. "Now, it's my turn."

"I won't let you," she told him as she tugged on the strings again.

Shikamaru's vision started to blur and he began to feel dizzy.

"What's going on?" He fell to his knees and looked up at her.

She laughed. "Those who listen to the sound of my bells become like that." The bells rang again. "The vibration of these special bells works on the brain directly through the ear drum. Then, you will see an illusion."

Shikamaru clasped his hands around his ears in an attempt to block out the sound.

"That's useless," she told him. "You won't be able to block the sound like that. You can't…"

The last part echoed in Shikamaru's mind as his vision of her was multiplied. Shikamaru pulled his hands away from his ears and looked at them.

"Kuso, which one is the real one?"

"You can't move at all?" A chorus of Kin's voice asked him. "You don't even know where to stretch your shadow, your only hope."

She was right. Shikamaru had never dealt with genjutsu before. He blinked his eyes a few times looking at each of them trying to find a difference that would denote the real one. She raised three senbon, but to Shikamaru it looked like thirty.

"Now, I'll tenderize you slowly," she mocked.

"Damn it, she's underestimating me."

She unleashed a flurry of senbon and Shikamaru covered himself with his arms and took the hit, falling backwards. Shikamaru noted that only three were real as he felt the individual pains in his left arm.

"Now, I'll throw five, then seven, and I'll continue until you look like a hedgehog," the chorus taunted him.

Shikamaru was still looking for a difference when light reflected off of the string like a ray of hope. He didn't show her his enthusiasm as he secretly moved his shadow along the line of the string.

"You deceitful wench," he called her. "You said you would end this match quickly." He needed to keep her distracted, secure in the thought of her own victory.

"I see," she said proudly. "You're in so much pain that you want to be relieved of it quickly." The bells rang again. "Then I'll finish you off with this." She held up more senbon.

"It's the end," she said.

Shikamaru felt the almost physical pull when his shadow connected with hers and he smirked.

"Nani?"

The Illusion dispelled and her hand fell to her side and Shikamaru stood up.

"Finally," Shikamaru said. "_Kage Mane no Jutsu…Seikou._"

"What are you talking about?" She looked stupefied. "Your shadow is no where near me." She looked around the floor for it.

"You haven't noticed it yet," Shikamaru scoffed.

"Did you…?"

"Just as you assumed," Shikamaru told her. "Baka!" Drawing out the insult, he continued. "There's no way a string at that height will make a shadow." He wiggled the shadow a little to prove it to her. "I can stretch and shrink my shadow."

His shadow widened out until it made a direct link between them.

"This wasn't the strings' shadow," she said.

"Yes, I thinned and stretched my shadow to make it look like the strings' shadow. Then I attached it to you."

Shikamaru opened his hands making her drop the string and senbon. He raised his right hand and pointed at her to let her know that he was in control. She mimicked his movements but wasn't entirely convinced.

"But, how are you going to win now?" She asked smiling at him not knowing the fate that awaited her. "All I'm going to do is move the same way you move."

"Shut up and watch." Shikamaru smirked, but focused on the wall behind her.

He moved his hand down to his shuriken holster and flipped it open forcing her to do the same. Hmm. He smirked at her.

"Baka ga?" She looked frightened. "If you attack like that you're going to get hurt, too."

Shikamaru pulled a shuriken out and held it out preparing to throw it.

"I know," he told her.

"Are you planning to…" She couldn't fathom anyone doing that.

"We're going to stab each other with our shuriken now. How long will we last?" He told her as he threw the shuriken. She mimicked him throwing her own.

"Stop this nonsense," she screamed, but it was too late.

The shuriken curled by each other in mid-air, heading straight for their target's heads. As the shuriken approached Shikamaru, he threw himself into a back bend forcing Kin to do the same. While his hands landed on the floor behind him, Kin smashed the back of her head into the wall, effectively knocking her out.

"Ha-ha," Shikamaru laughed as he turned the back bend into a backhand spring. "One down."

"A shinobi needs to grasp the landscape and the situation before fighting," he told her unconscious form. "Even if we moved the same, our distances from the walls were different." He scratched the back of his head. "I just used the shuriken to get your attention away from the wall." He shook his head. 'Stupid woman,' he thought.

"Winner," Hayate announced. "Nara Shikamaru."

"Way to go, Shikamaru!" Ino screamed from the balcony.

"You look cool." Chouji added.

Shikamaru pulled the senbon out of his left arm before making his way back up stairs. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he just nodded to the few people who congratulated him on his victory. Asuma just gave him a knowing smile that said 'I knew you had it in you.' Shikamaru was not too pleased with that but then again it was his own fault for proving that he was better than that woman. Chouji congratulated him and Shikamaru spent a few seconds ignoring the sound of Ino's voice until everyone quieted down at the sound of the electronic billboard again.

"Now for the next match," Hayate announced.

* * *

A/N: Ah that's all for now. Look for the next chapter to finish.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Here's the rest of the story.

* * *

Preliminaries (cont.)

"Now for the next match," Hayate announced.

Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba

"Thanks for waiting," Naruto yelled. "My turn is finally here!"

"Hell yeah!" Kiba yelled. "We got lucky!"

Shikamaru hmphed. 'Those two troublesome idiots,' he thought. 'This match is going to be entirely one-sided.'

"Seventh match, Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba," Hayate announced.

Everyone looked on in anticipation of the match. The seconds ticked away as the anxiety between the two fighters grew. Naruto cracked first.

"I'm tired of all the waiting!" He screamed in agony. "It's finally my turn to show off my moves!"

"That's my line!" Kiba yelled back. "Drawing you as my opponent means I already won! Na, Akamaru?"

Akamaru barked in response.

"Keep dreaming!" Naruto shot back. "You can't win against me."

"Temae…" Kiba said as he pulled Akamaru out of his jacket and set him on the floor.

"Oi!" Naruto shouted. "Puppies aren't allowed in here! He's going to interfere with the battle!"

"Baka, Akamaru's going to fight too."

Akamaru gave his toughest bark even though it sounded more cute than intimidating.

Naruto pointed at them but turned to look at Hayate.

"Oi, Oi!" Naruto complained. "Is that legal?"

Hayate just looked at him and spoke calmly.

"Hai, animals and bugs are treated as weapons," Hayate said. "It isn't a problem."

Naruto looked dejected for a second before turning his attention back to Kiba and Akamaru.

"Ha!" he laughed, trying to look tough again. "That's a good handicap."

"Acting tough, eh?" Kiba called his bluff. "Then…" looking down at his dog, Kiba spoke. "Akamaru, you stay out of this. I'll do it alone."

Akamaru looked disappointed.

Shikamaru had enough of the tough guy bullshit. He was seriously considering laying himself down and taking a nap.

"Naruto, don't lose to that guy!" Sakura yelled from the balcony.

"Kiba's…lucky," Chouji whined. He was hoping to face an opponent like Naruto.

Shikamaru snorted.

"Begin," Hayate announced.

Kiba knelt down and put his hands together in the tora seal. He then leaned over so that he was on all fours like an animal.

"Let's go!" he yelled as he took off with blinding speed. He hit Naruto with an elbow and sent him flying backwards. Naruto lay there for a second.

"He won't be getting up for a while, proctor-san," Kiba told Hayate.

"Just as I thought," Shikamaru said.

"Naruto can't beat Kiba," Ino said, sounding a little worried.

Kiba turned and started to walk back to Akamaru.

Naruto got up much to everyone's surprise.

Kiba paused and looked back over his shoulder.

"Don't…" Naruto said. "Don't underestimate me!"

'O, Tough guy, eh,' Shikamaru thought with a smirk on his face.

"Get him, Naruto!" Sakura cheered.

"You're bleeding!" Kiba pointed out. "So stop pretending to be cool."

"Ha, I went easy on you." Naruto laughed. "I just wanted to see how strong you were."

Kiba looked pissed.

"Why don't you stop acting tough and use your puppy or whatever."

Kiba mumbled something to himself, then charged in again. "Let's go, Akamaru."

Akamaru barked as he followed.

"Take this!" Kiba yelled, throwing two smoke bombs at Naruto.

They landed at his feet engulfing him in purple smoke. In the smoke, you could here the sounds of punches striking flesh and Naruto's voice grunting in pain with each strike. After a minute, Naruto tried to exit the cloud of smoke only to be met aggressively by Akamaru, who sent him tumbling back into the cloud.

"Nani?" Ino gasped.

"Damn it!" Shikamaru swore. "I can't see anything."

Kiba leapt out of the smoke and landed facing it. The smoke started to dissipate revealing Naruto laid out and Akamaru sitting there wagging his tail. Akamaru barked towards Kiba.

"Yoshi, way to go!" Kiba cheered.

Akamaru barked a few more times and began bounding towards Kiba.

"Good job, Aka…" Kiba stopped short right before Akamaru jumped up and latched his teeth on his arm.

Everyone was surprised.

"Akamaru…" Kiba questioned. "Why?"

There was a poof and Akamaru was really Naruto transformed.

"What?" Kiba cried. "Henge no Jutsu. Get off."

Kiba shook Naruto until his bite was loosened knocking him back a few steps.

Naruto spit the taste out of his mouth.

"You taste like a dog!"

Kiba didn't care. He was searching frantically.

"Where's Akamaru?"

"Over here," Naruto's kage bunshin said behind Kiba. He held up Akamaru.

"Akamaru!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Uso," Ino said. "That's Naruto?" She couldn't believe it. "He's on equal ground with Kiba. No, he might even be better than him."

"There's no way he could do something as crafty as using a kage bunshin and a henge at the same time," Shikamaru said.

"That was amazing, Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

"It looks like he's no longer the fuck-up that we knew," Shikamaru thought out loud.

Ino nodded an agreement.

Kiba calmed himself down and reached into his pouch.

"Naruto," Kiba said. "You're going to give me back my Akamaru."

Kiba flicked a food pill in Akamaru's direction. Akamaru caught it in his mouth and swallowed, baring his teeth. Akamaru's fur grew and turned a dark crimson. He kicked Naruto's kage bunshin, causing it to dispel and release him.

"Nan da?" Naruto asked. "What did you give him, and why is his fur red?"

"That's why his name's 'Aka'maru." Kiba told him.

Kiba swallowed a food pill of his own.

"Let's go, Akamaru!" Kiba shouted, squatting down while Akamaru jumped on his back.

_Gijyuu Ninpou-Jyuujin Bunshin_

Akamaru transformed into a Kiba bunshin standing on top of Kiba's back.

Naruto looked panicked.

"He used some kind of drug!" he shouted at Hayate. "Isn't that considered doping?"

"Food pills are considered a tool," Hayate told him calmly before coughing.

"You always say that," Naruto yelled, pointing an accusing finger in his direction.

"What the…" Shikamaru asked. "What did he eat?"

"A food pill," Chouji answered.

"Food pill?" Ino asked.

"It's a special medicine that allows soldiers who use it to fight for three days and nights straight," Chouji explained. "It's high in protein and is quickly absorbed into the body. It also has substances that work both as a stimulus and a tranquilizer."

The three of them turned back to look at Kiba and Akamaru.

"Kiba and Akamaru's chakra has most likely been doubled temporarily," Chouji said.

"Let's go!" Kiba shouted. "_Shikyaku no Jutsu_"

Both Kibas attacked Naruto.

"Naruto's in a bad situation," Asuma said behind Shikamaru. "Kiba has chakra surrounding his body and he's a total combat type fighter that brawls like a beast. The food pill that doubles his chakra is perfect for him."

Shikamaru turned around and watched as Naruto desperately tried to dodge Kiba's attack.

Naruto leapt in to the air to dodge one of their attacks.

_Jyuujin Taijutsu Ougi-Gatsuuga_

Kiba flew into a spinning attack that looked like a tornado clipping Naruto, sending him falling through the air screaming. Naruto fell to the ground with a thud and spit up blood on impact.

"That's the difference in our skill," Kiba told him.

Naruto mumbled something as he lay face down on the ground.

"You? Hokage? You're weaker than me." Kiba laughed. "I'll become Hokage for you."

Naruto started to get up again.

'Damn, this guy doesn't know when to give up,' Shikamaru thought. 'He'd better have something planned.'

"Stand up, Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto stood up and mumbled something through the blood spitting out of his mouth.

"You sure are a persistent guy!" Kiba yelled.

Naruto smirked at him. Kiba mumbled something else in return.

"Let's go, Akamaru!"

Both Kibas charged at Naruto. They leapt into two Gatsuuga's coming at him from different angles. Naruto dodged them by leaping over the top but he fell hard as he landed. Kiba tossed two more smoke bombs at Naruto, engulfing him in purple smoke. The two Kibas launched another round of Gatsuuga attacking Naruto blindly in the smoke. They stopped for a moment and regrouped before launching another attack again, but right before they entered the smoke, they stopped.

Everyone wondered why.

"I see," Kakashi said to Shikamaru's left.

"Huh?" Sakura asked.

"Look closely," he told her.

The smoke drifted away revealing three Kibas staring intently at one another.

"Great idea! Nice plan, Naruto!" Sakura cheered.

Shikamaru smirked. Naruto confused Kiba by making a third one, leaving him an opportunity to counter attack. The three of them stood still in the center of the arena looking over each other.

"Let me warn you…" one of the Kibas spoke. "I underestimated you once before, and it took a while to notice. Your henge won't work on me anymore. Why?"

The one who spoke launched into a flying punch sending another one flying backwards and sliding across the ground.

"Don't underestimate our sense of smell, Naruto," Kiba said.

To everyone's surprise, the Kiba lying on the ground poofed into Akamaru.

"Nani?"

Kiba stood there for a moment looking at Akamaru lying on the ground before turning around and punching the remaining bunshin in the face.

"Then are you Naruto?" He yelled. "Play me for a fool, eh?"

The bunshin rolled across the floor, bouncing to a stop in a cloud of smoke revealing…Akamaru?

The first Akamaru got up and released the henge, revealing Naruto as he charged in and hit Kiba in the face with a flying kick. Kiba slid backwards, coming to a stop next to the real Akamaru who lay there unconscious. Kiba looked between Naruto and Akamaru.

'Maybe Naruto's finally getting his shit together,' Shikamaru thought.

"Was Naruto this clever?" Ino asked astounded.

"Ha!" Naruto laughed. "Use your techniques carefully, after thinking about what you're doing, or your opponent will use it against you, baka!"

Kiba's rage was growing. He bit into his hand in an attempt to calm himself. He stood up and, when he felt he had calmed down enough, he reached into his holster and pulled eight shuriken. Kiba seemed to be done with the big talk and continued watching Naruto to see how he would move.

"So you're finally serious, Kiba?" Naruto said. "Then I'll finish this with a new move I've been saving up." Naruto placed his hands in the hitsuji seal in front of his chest and began molding chakra.

"New move, my ass!" Kiba yelled being easily drawn in. "You're just bluffing."

"We'll see if it's a bluff or not," Naruto countered. "Here we go!" Naruto moved his hands out from his chest, crossing his fingers.

Before Naruto could execute his technique, Kiba charged in and launched all eight shuriken at him. Surprised, Naruto barely dodged the shuriken only to be thrown off guard when Kiba went into 'beast mode' and attacked with blinding speed.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

"Naruto-kun!" A soft voice gasped. Shikamaru didn't turn to look because he was wondering what Naruto would try to pull out.

Naruto landed hard on the ground after the attack. Kiba watched him from a distance.

"Stand up, Naruto!" Sakura urged, drawing Kiba's attention for a second.

As if only for her request, he stood up again, but Kiba wouldn't let him think, much less execute a technique. Kiba charged in and attacked again. Naruto went flying backwards, sliding across the ground.

"He's fast!" Chouji groaned.

"It's impossible. Naruto doesn't have any time to form seals," Ino pointed out.

'There's too much difference in their power,' Shikamaru thought. 'I guess it will be impossible for Naruto to win.'

Kiba dove into another attack as Naruto was trying to rise. Naruto barely had time to guard. As Kiba's fingernails dug into the flesh of the arm Naruto guarded with, Naruto grabbed him with his other arm and used his momentum against him tossing him across the room. Kiba spun in the air and landed on his hands and feet skidding to a stop. Blood trickled down Naruto's clenched fist as he breathed heavily.

"Naruto's really trying hard," Chouji commented.

"Yeah," Ino agreed.

"If I were Kiba, I'd be spent already," Shikamaru said, thinking about how long this battle was dragging out.

"Ha, that didn't affect me at all!" Naruto taunted, shaking the blood from his fist. "I'll whip out my new move at any time." He formed the seal again.

"I won't let you." Kiba charged him once again.

Naruto began molding his chakra and Kiba swooped around to attack from behind. When Kiba reared back to attack at close range, something amazingly stupid happened.

Naruto farted.

In any other situation, this would be considered funny or crass, but at the moment, Naruto's irregular diet, coupled with natural body function, provided him with an opening. Kiba reeled as he tried desperately to remove the stench that was torturing his olfactory senses. Naruto blushed in embarrassment as everyone stared at him flabbergasted.

"Whatever works, Naruto!" Sakura cheered.

"Damn it," Naruto whined. "I strained too much, but this is the good part of my new move."

_Kage bunshin no Jutsu_

Naruto created four kage bunshin and together the five of him surrounded the still stunned Kiba.

One Naruto rushed forward and punched Kiba in the face.

"U…"

Another leapt off of the first ones back, as Kiba stumbled backwards from the hit. The remaining three Narutos slid in and kicked him into the air.

"zu…"

"ma…"

"ki…"

As Kiba was lifted skyward, the Naruto, who launched himself into the air earlier, came down with a kick to the face sending Kiba face first into the floor. Kiba's face bounced hard off the floor before coming to rest.

"Naruto Rendan!"

Naruto stood there breathing heavily, while Kiba lay on the floor motionless. The four kage bunshin dispelled as Hayate walked over to check on Kiba. After looking at Kiba, Hayate looked over at Naruto and coughed a couple of times.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Shannarou!" Sakura shouted. "You did good. Yatta!"

"That Naruto beat Kiba!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"No one expected it," Chouji added.

Shikamaru had no idea when Naruto became that strong.

Naruto went bounding up the stairs to the balcony as the medical squad loaded Kiba onto a stretcher and one of them personally recovered Akamaru.

"I will now announce the next match," Hayate said and the electronic billboard chirped into action again.

Hyuuga Hinata vs. Hyuuga Neji

'Two Hyuuga's,' Shikamaru thought. 'They must be from the same clan.'

Hinata and Neji approached one another in the center of the arena.

"I didn't think I would be fighting you, Hinata-sama," Neji told her.

"Neji-nii-san," was her reply.

"Nii-san?" Sakura questioned aloud.

"Nani?" Naruto asked. "Are those two related?"

"They come from one of Konoha's oldest noble families, the Hyuuga clan," Kakashi told him. "But they aren't siblings."

"Ja," Sakura cut him off with a question. "How are they related?"

"Well," Kakashi continued. "They come from the head and branch families."

"Head and branch families?" Naruto sounded unconvinced.

"Hai," Lee stated pointing a finger in the air. "Hinata-san is from the Hyuuga head family, in other words, the clan's founders. Neji is from the branch family that caries the Hyuuga bloodline."

"So it's a fight between relatives?" Sakura asked. "It must be difficult to fight a family member."

"Hai, demo…" Lee paused.

"Nani?" Sakura asked.

"I believe…" Lee began. "That a lot of things have happened between the head and branch families in the past, and they are not on really good terms right now."

"Nande?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"I don't know the details, but…" Lee said. "In old noble families, like the Uchiha and the Hyuuga, they have special moves and abilities that only run in that clan. To pass those moves down, the Hyuuga have a set of rules, but it seems these rules are favorable to the head family. It is because of those rules that a lot has happened between the head and branch families."

'So it's a family feud,' Shikamaru thought.

"It's about to start," Kakashi reminded them.

"Please begin the match," Hayate said formally.

Neji widened his stance.

"Before we fight, let me warn you about one thing, Hinata-sama," Neji spoke. "Give up. You're not suited to become a ninja."

Hinata gasped.

"You're too kind. You seek harmony and avoid trouble. You go along with other people's ideas, and…" Neji paused. "You have no self-confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why you thought it would be fine to remain a Genin, but you cannot register for the Chuunin exams unless there are three people. You couldn't refuse the offers of Kiba or your other teammate, and the truth is that you're taking this exam unwillingly. Am I wrong?"

"You're wrong," she gasped. "I…I just…" Her voice grew soft and everyone strained to listen. "…wanted to change so I willingly…" The thought was left unfinished.

"Hinata-sama," Neji spoke. "You are indeed a spoiled child of the head family. People can't change." Hinata looked up at him. "A failure is a failure. His personality and power will not change. That is why terms like 'elite' and 'failure' were created. Everyone judges you by your looks, abilities and personality. These things cannot be changed. People live their lives suffering because of their limits; just like how we cannot change the fact that you are from the head family and I am from the branch family."

"My Byakugan has seen many things," Neji continued. "That is why I know you're just trying to be tough. You're really thinking about how much you would like to be somewhere else right now."

"That's not true," Hinata gasped out of her stupor. "I really want to…"

"Byakugan?" Sakura asked Kakashi.

Shikamaru was a bit curious, too.

"It is said that the Uchiha clan stems from the Hyuuga clan," Kakashi explained. "Byakugan is the kekkei genkai of the Hyuuga clan. It's a doujutsu that is similar to the Sharingan, but if you look at its ability of insight alone, it's better than the Sharingan."

"Byakugan!" Neji yelled, drawing attention back to the match.

The two Hyuugas stood silent in the center of the arena. Hinata looked terrified as Neji scrutinized her with his eyes. She looked like she might faint at any minute. Finally, when it looked like Hinata couldn't stand it any longer, she turned her head away.

Shikamaru could almost feel the pressure being put on her. It was as if Neji's stare could change the barometric pressure in the room.

"You can't fool my eyes," Neji told Hinata.

Hinata gasped and turned to look at him.

"When you felt my pressure, your eyes moved to the upper left indicating that you were recalling a harsh, past event. Then they moved down and to the right indicating you were imagining physical and mental pain. In other words, you thought about your past and predicted the outcome of this battle, a prediction that says you will lose."

'Damn,' Shikamaru thought. 'This guy uses intense psychological warfare. He's winning the battle before it ever begins.' Shikamaru wouldn't want to fight him, but this whole thing was just ridiculous.

"By putting your arm in front of you," Neji continued. "Your subconsciously trying to build a barrier between us and create some distance. It shows you don't want me to see your true feelings because everything I've said is correct."

The arm Hinata had in front of her was now raised high enough for her hand to be in front of her face. She subconsciously placed her index finger against her lip.

"Also," Neji continued. "By touching your lip, you're showing that your mind is disturbed. It is a defensive instinct that tries to lower nervousness and uneasiness, but you already know. You can't change."

"Yes, you can!" Naruto screamed from the balcony.

Everyone in the room turned to see him.

"Don't label people like that, baka!" Naruto was outraged. "Beat the shit out of him, Hinata!"

Silence. Everyone just stared but Naruto was still looking at Hinata.

"Hinata!" Naruto screamed at her. "Why don't you say something back? It's making the people watching angry."

Everyone turned to see what Hinata's reaction would be. She had her head lowered[,] but when she brought her head back up, her posture was straight and her eyes were as cold as Neji's.

Neji's surprise was evident in the change of his stance. A few shouted words from a knucklehead ninja were all it took to turn her around.

"So you're not going to give up?" Neji asked, regaining his composure. "Don't blame me later."

Hinata ran through her own set of hand seals.

"Byakugan."

She took a fighting stance Shikamaru had never seen before. Neji took a similar stance.

"They're using the same Hyuuga style. Her stance is just like his," Lee said.

"Hyuuga style?" Sakura asked.

"Konoha's strangest taijutsu style," Lee said.

"Huh?"

"Remember what I said before. 'The strongest of the Konoha genin is in my squad.' That…" Lee paused. "…is Hyuuga Neji."

The two Hyuugas moved into each other with various open handed strikes. Each strike deflected in turn by the opponent. You could almost see the air move as each blow missed its target. Hinata sidestepped and landed a glancing blow on Neji's side. Neji hissed in pain as he stepped backward and recovered before resuming his fighting stance.

"Did she get him?" Sakura asked.

"No, it wasn't deep enough." Naruto said.

"No," Lee corrected. "It hurts even if it grazes you. That is why the Hyuuga clan is called Konoha's noble family."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"The Hyuuga have a special taijutsu that is passed on from generation to generation," Gai said. "The taijutsu Lee and I use specializes in breaking the bones and creating external damage. This style is known as Gouken. On the other hand, the Hyuuga try to damage the chakra circulatory system inside the enemy and create internal damage. That style is known as Jyuuken. It doesn't look like much, but it hurts more."

"There's no way to train your internal organs," Kakashi added. "If you get hit enough, no matter how tough you are, it will still be fatal."

The fight continued on. Hinata was holding her own against Neji.

"Sensei," Sakura asked. "How can you attack the chakra circulatory system. We can't even see it."

"Those two," Kakashi referred to the two Hyuugas fighting. "With their Byakugan, can see it, and the Jyuuken style allows you to release chakra from your hands and attack the chakra circulatory system directly."

"Yatta!" Naruto who hadn't paid attention to any of it was still watching the fight.

Both fighters had stopped holding their last attack like a pose. Hinata spit up a mouthful of blood.

"So this is the best the head family could do?" Neji said.

"Why?" Naruto screamed. "Hinata's attack hit him, too."

Hinata pushed Neji's hand away from her chest and moved in to strike. Neji caught her arm with his left hand and shoved chakra into her arm with his right. Neji pulled Hinata's sleeve back, revealing bruises along her arm.

"Did you…" Hinata asked. "So you were…"

"Correct," Neji said. "My eyes can see the tenketsu."

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"In the chakra circulatory system," Kakashi explained. "There are three hundred and sixty-one points or chakra holes. They're only as wide as a needle, though. These holes are known as tenketsu and, in theory, if you hit them accurately, you can stop or increase the enemy's flow of chakra."

Hinata screamed as Neji hit her hard, sending her flying backwards. Neji tried once again to destroy her psychologically but in a move reminiscent of Naruto she stood back up refusing to give up. Hinata tried to activate her Byakugan but when she tried to force it she only coughed up more blood.

"His eyes are scary," Ino said. "Hinata won't get killed, right?"

"Hinata!" Naruto screamed. "Do your best!"

Hinata charged Neji and let out a flurry of attacks, guards and counterattacks. For a moment it looked as though Hinata might be able to pull something off, but Neji forced her off balance with a guard and struck her with an uppercut to the jaw, sending her stumbling backwards.

After regaining her balance, Hinata charged in again but only to be met with a strike to the chest from Neji. Blood, mucus and bile spewed from her mouth as she collapsed to the ground. Neji just turned and looked at her.

"You're such a stubborn person," Neji told her. "Your attacks had no effect on me to begin with. It's over."

Neji turned and walked away.

Hayate walked over to her body lying on the floor.

"I'm going to assume that she cannot fight anymore…"

"Don't stop the match!" Naruto yelled.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Don't stop the match," Naruto said.

"What are you talking about, baka!" Sakura asked. "She can't fight anymore, she…"

Sakura stopped when she saw Hinata getting up out of the corner of her eye. Everyone looked on astonished.

"Why did you stand up?" Neji asked stunned. "If you push yourself, you're really going to die."

When she didn't answer right away, he grew frustrated.

"Why?" He yelled.

She picked her head up and looked him square in the eyes. Something he saw in hers triggered a response.

"I can still…" She stumbled forward a little.

"Don't act tough," he told her. "You can barely stand. You carried the destiny of the Hyuuga family. You cursed your powerlessness and blamed yourself. However, people cannot change. That is destiny. You don't have to suffer. Let yourself go."

She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"You're wrong, Neji-nii-san," She told him. "You are suffering more than I am. You are the one who is confused and suffering inside the fate of the head and branch families."

Neji's anger swelled inside of him. He could dish out the psychological bullshit but he couldn't take it. He charged at Hinata.

"Neji-kun, the match is over," Hayate said.

Neji got closer to Hinata. His special eyes only focusing on a single person didn't see the three Jounin and the proctor making their way to stop him. When the dust settled, it was too late. He was already restrained.

Gai whispered something into Neji's ear.

"Why did the Jounin's come out?" Neji yelled. "Does the head family get special treatment?"

Hinata collapsed to the ground.

"Hinata!" Kurenai ran over to her.

"Hinata!" Naruto, Lee, and Sakura jumped down and rushed to her side. "Hinata-san!"

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled as he knelt down next to her. "Daijoubu ka? Oi!"

Hinata blinked at him and whispered something.

"Oi!" Neji called. "Failure."

Naruto turned to look at him.

"Let me warn you about two things," Neji said sternly. "If you're a shinobi, then stop the unsightly cheering for strangers. One more thing, a failure is a failure. They cannot change."

Naruto stood up and looked him square in the eyes.

"Do you want to try?"

Neji smirked at him. Naruto began to charge only to be cut off by Lee.

"Omae…" Naruto stopped.

"I understand how you are feeling, Naruto-kun," Lee told him. "But you should fight in a proper match. A failure will beat a genius with hard work. The main matches will be exciting, but I may be his opponent. I will hold no grudge if you were to match up against him."

Naruto seemed to listen to reason and visibly relaxed.

"Fine."

Lee gave Gai a thumbs up who returned the gesture.

Hinata coughed loudly spitting up more blood. Kurenai unzipped her jacket and felt her chest. After a moment, she turned and glared at Neji.

"If you have time to glare at me, I believe that time would be better spent looking at her."

"Medical Squad!" Kurenai yelled. "Hurry up!"

"Excuse us," one apologized as they came rushing in.

The medical squad hurried and placed Hinata on a stretcher and carried her out. Naruto watched as they took her out of the room. Naruto knelt down and drew his fingers through the puddle of blood, mucus and bile Hinata had left on the floor. He clenched his fist and pointed it at Neji; drops of the crimson liquid falling to the floor.

"Zettai katsu!"

Neji smirked at him before returning to the balcony. Kakashi and Sakura were able to corral Naruto and keep him a distance away from Neji. Ibiki came in with a broom and made a half-ass attempt to sweep up the blood.

Shikamaru ran through the list of remaining candidates in his mind. Lee, the Suna shinobi, the Oto shinobi, and…

"Oi, Chouji," he called his best friend. "You're in trouble. Only the strong people are left now. The Oto shinobi looks like he's the strongest from his village. I heard that Lee can fight on equal ground with Sasuke, and that Suna shinobi…"

Shikamaru paused, looking over at the guy in question.

"Guys like him are the most dangerous."

Chouji squatted down, holding on to the railing to maintain his balance.

"I don't care," he mumbled. "I'll just give up."

"But that means…" Asuma interrupted. "You won't be able to enjoy all-you-can-eat barbeque."

"But I want that!" Chouji whined.

Asuma stepped up and knelt down next to him.

"Don't worry," Asuma told him. "If things look bad, I'll stop the match like I did with Hinata's. You can eat expensive cow tongues or…"

'Actually, you weren't the one who stopped Hinata's match,' Shikamaru thought.

"Bar-be-que!" Chouji cheered. "Barbeque, here I come. All-you-can-eat!"

"We will now resume the matches," Hayate announced.

The electronic billboard went into its frenzy again.

Chouji let out a loud yell. "Safe!"

"Hey!" Ino said, slapping him in the head.

"Stop confusing us." Shikamaru dropped an elbow on his head.

Gaara vs. Rock Lee

"Hurry up and come down here," Gaara who had appeared in the center of the arena said.

Lee and Gai exchanged a few student/teacher words of advice before he leapt energetically into the arena.

"I'm very happy that I can fight you so early," Lee said.

Gaara pulled his cork from the gourd and threw it at Lee who caught it.

"Don't get so hasty," Lee told him dropping the cork to the ground.

"Now let the ninth match…" Hayate announced. "Begin."

Lee charged head on at Gaara. Sand began to creep out of the gourd and onto the floor.

"Konoha Senpuu," Lee said as he threw a spinning kick.

A wall of sand shot up in front of Gaara blocking Lee's kick. Lee landed and stepped back. The wall of sand grew higher and started to crash down on Lee like a wave. Lee flipped backwards and skidded to a stop a good distance from Gaara.

"_Are wa_…" Ino said.

"_Suna_?" Sakura finished her question.

Lee recomposed himself before charging in again. He threw a barrage of different attacks that were all guarded by the sand preventing any of them from hitting Gaara. Soon the sand went from guarding to attacking and Lee was forced to draw a kunai to help defend himself. Lee was being forced back and in his retreat from the sand, he threw two shuriken which more sand shot up to block.

"Lee-san's fast attacks aren't working at all," Sakura said.

"Is that it?" The red-haired Suna shinobi said. "Let me enjoy this a little more. There isn't enough blood."

The sand shot across the ground quickly and grabbed Lee's ankle as he tried to leap over it. The sand swung him around and threw him into one of the walls. Lee hit hard and fell to the ground. The sand rushed to attack him again. Lee noticed and quickly dodged to the right and charged in at Gaara one more time.

"Why is Lee only using taijutsu?" Sakura asked. "Winning at close combat is going to be tough. He needs to step back and use ninjutsu."

"It's not that he's _not_ using ninjutsu. It's just that he _can't_ use ninjutsu," Gai told her.

Lee tried to attack again but was unable to land a blow.

"Huh?"

"Lee has no talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu."

"Uso!" Sakura said.

"When I first met Lee," Gai continued. "He had no sense for anything. No talent at all."

"I…can't believe that." Sakura said.

Gaara sent his sand after Lee again. Lee flew into back handsprings to escape but some of the sand slipped under his foot, causing him to fall.

"Oi," Shikamaru let slip in a moment of worry.

Gaara's sand began to topple over Lee like a wave. Just when it looked like all was lost, Lee leapt from the ground doing back flips and landed on top of the giant statue's hands. Gaara and Lee stared at each other.

"It is true that ninja who can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu are rare," Gai said. "That's why the only thing left for him, if he was able to survive, was taijutsu, but that's why he can win."

"Huh?" Sakura was confused.

"Lee," Gai yelled sticking his hand out in a thumbs up. "Take 'em off!"

"Gai-sensei," Lee said as he saluted him. "But I thought that was only permitted when protecting many important people?"

"I don't care!" Gai told him, raising his thumbs up to Lee. "I'll allow it."

Lee slowly lowered his salute as realization sank in. He began giggling like a schoolgirl as he sat down and pulled down his leg warmers, revealing the hidden ankle weights.

"Are those…" Ino asked.

"Weights?" Shikamaru finished.

"What a primitive training method," Kakashi commented.

Lee held the weights out to the side as he stood back up.

"Yoshi!" Lee yelled. "I can move easier now!"

Lee released the weights and they fell at a constant rate to the floor, but as they struck the floor, the impact created two craters sending clouds of dust and debris upward until they almost reached Lee atop the statue. Everyone was shocked.

"Go, Lee!" Gai signaled him.

"Osu!" Lee pumped his fists.

Lee leapt off the statue and in the blink of an eye was in front of Gaara attacking him again. Each strike getting closer and closer to Gaara as the sand struggled to keep up with his pace. Even Gaara could not follow his movements. The look of surprise was evident on his face every time the sand moved to block one of Lee's attacks.

"He can't use any ninjutsu or genjutsu," Gai said. "And that is why we spent all our time on taijutsu. He worked hard and did everything for them. Although he cannot use any other techniques, he's a taijutsu combat specialist who won't lose to anyone."

Lee saw an opening and went for it. He flipped into the air and came down with a heel strike on top of Gaara's skull.

"Seishun wa!" Gai yelled spinning in a circle. "Bakuhatsu da!"

"Osu!" Lee screamed and you could literally see the fire in his eyes.

Lee charged in faster this time. Gaara tried to anticipate by throwing up a wall of sand which Lee dodged and came around attacking from various sides. The sand blocked a few attacks before Lee landed a punch right on his jaw, sending him flying.

"Incredible," was all Shikamaru could say.

"His attacks are fast," Ino said.

"I can't keep up with him with my eyes," Chouji said.

Gaara slowly stood up, more sand pouring out of his gourd. Sand was falling from his face. As he looked up, it looked like the sand had been caked onto his body and the punch had loosened it. Gaara held a wicked smile on his face.

"He's totally unharmed?" Shikamaru asked.

"Who is that guy?" Sakura asked.

The sand slowly came back up to cover Gaara's body. Gaara's visage changed to an expressionless one as the sand once again hardened around him.

"Is that all you've got?" Gaara asked Lee.

Lee looked up to Gai who nodded. Lee then began unwrapping the bandages around his arms leaving loose strands approximately half a meter in length.

"Prepare yourself," Lee said as he took off sprinting around Gaara at a very high rate of speed.

"Hurry up and come," Gaara said, growing impatient.

"As you wish." Lee said as he made his move.

He cut out of his circle and, before the sand could react, he kicked Gaara into the air from underneath. Gaara didn't fly as high as Lee needed so he kept kicking him higher and higher. The sand followed behind them at a slower pace. As Lee struck his last kick, he winced in pain, then spun around wrapping Gaara in his loose bandages before rocketing them to the ground.

"Omote Renge"

The impact made a huge crater as dust and debris flew everywhere. Even Hayate took a couple of steps back. Everyone looked on in awe as Lee leapt out of the crater. Gaara lay there with chunks of broken stone around him. The sand around his body was cracked all over.

"That," Lee said. "Should have hurt."

"Yoshi!" Gai yelled.

"Yatta!" Sakura cheered. "Lee-san won!"

"Oi," Shikamaru asked. "Did he die?"

Hayate walked over to Gaara's body when pieces of the sand armor began to fall off and crumble revealing nobody underneath.

"Nani?" Lee gasped.

"A shell made of sand," Sakura said.

Lee stared in disbelief as the rest of the sand crumbled. Behind him, a pile of sand rose from the ground revealing Gaara. Lee spun around at the sound of Gaara laughing. Gaara made a hand seal and sand began to fly at Lee who tried to guard and was thrown back. Lee struggled to get to his feet. Gaara sent a huge wave of sand in Lee's direction.

"Run!" Naruto screamed.

The sand picked Lee up and tossed him into a wall before delivering a crushing blow. A massive amount of sand shot in Lee's direction, causing a giant dust cloud on impact.

"Why isn't he dodging?" Sakura asked. "With Lee-san's speed he can dodge that easily."

"He can't," Gai said.

"That move he used, Renge," Kakashi told her. "Is a double edged sword."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Why do you think the Renge is considered a kinjutsu?" Kakashi said. "The amount of strain it causes on the body is unimaginable. His body hurts all over right now, so he can't move around."

"Oh, no!" Sakura said.

The sand began to peel back away from the wall, revealing Lee standing in a dent holding his guard. More sand came at him and he was able to dive and roll away as each strike that missed him tore up the floor.

"He can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu," Sakura said.

"He can only use taijutsu," Ino added.

"He can't win," Chouji said.

"At this rate, he's going to…" Shikamaru couldn't finish the sentence.

Gaara toyed with Lee some more, attacking him and sending him flying. Lee stood up to his feet and crossed his arms in front of him, attempting to guard his face. Lee took one look up at the balcony and smiled. He switched into his normal fighting stance.

"Don't try to fight anymore, Lee-san!" Sakura screamed. "You're going to die."

Gaara sent another sand attack at Lee but Lee moved in a blur around it. Gaara sent a barrage of sand attacks that Lee dodged easily.

"Lee is laughing even when he's cornered," Sakura said in disbelief.

"No," Gai told her. "Now we corner him. The Lotus in Konoha blooms twice."

"Blooms twice?" Sakura said. "Lee said that, too."

"Gai, did you…" Kakashi asked.

"It's just as you suspect," Gai told him.

"So that boy, a Genin, is capable of opening the inner gates of the Hachimon?" Kakashi asked. "And using the Ura Renge."

"Correct," Gai said.

"What a disaster," Kakashi said. "Gai, how many gates is he capable of opening?"

"Five."

"I have no intention of prying into what that boy means to you, and I won't tell you to leave personal affairs out of this," Kakashi told him. "But there is such a thing as a limit. I've lost faith in you, Gai."

Gai looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"What…" Gai started. "…do _you_…" Gai sounded furious. "…know about him!"

Silence from Kakashi.

"He has something very important that he must protect," Gai told him. "Even if it costs him his life. I wanted to make him a man who could live up to his word."

Lee dodged a couple more attacks. When Gaara paused in his attack, Lee crossed his arms in front of his face again. The chakra he was releasing created a visible rift in the air shooting up from around him. His skin began to turn red as veins began to bulge out of his forehead. He threw his arms down by his side.

"_Daisan Seimon_, Kai!"

The floor beneath him buckled under the pressure of his chakra.

"_Daiyon shoumon_, Kai!"

The pressure grew to enormous proportions. Pieces of the floor were beginning to rise in the air. Lee bent his legs in preparation to charge. As he took off, the floor erupted underneath him. In an instant, he was kicking Gaara into the air. A plume of dust and debris filled the room. Everyone guarded their eyes.

Shikamaru tried to see anything when Gaara came rising out to the cloud.

"But I can't see Lee anywhere!" Ino exclaimed.

"Where is he?" Chouji asked.

Gaara's sand finally caught up to him in his descent. Lee appeared out of nowhere and hit Gaara, increasing his descent. Before he could hit the floor, Lee appeared behind him and knocked him back into the air. This continued on with Lee keeping Gaara from ever reaching the ground.

Shikamaru could catch glimpses of Lee as he jumped off various surfaces. Lee jumped off the ceiling and flew in to attack Gaara again.

"This is the end!" Lee yelled. "_Daigo Morimon,_ Kai!"

Lee flew into Gaara landing rapid punches to his torso and finishing off with a solid punch that sent Gaara flying towards the ground. Lee grabbed a hold of Gaara's sash and pulled him back towards him. Lee let out a yell as he hit Gaara with a strong palm thrust.

"Ura Renge!"

What sounded like an explosion and another cloud blinded the onlookers.

'That was so fast, I couldn't see what happened,' Shikamaru thought.

Gaara came out of the bottom of the cloud and his gourd crumbled into sand just before impact. Another plume engulfed the arena. Lee tumbled to the ground, rolling to a stop.

As the cloud settled, Shikamaru gasped.

"What is that?" Ino asked.

The sand from Gaara's gourd cushioned Gaara's impact with the ground. He still looked worn out but he was able to move. Gaara reached a hand out towards Lee who was trying to get back onto his feet. The Ura Renge must have taken a lot out of him. Gaara's sand crept towards Lee who was struggling to make an escape. The sand wrapped around Lee's left arm and leg. Lee tried to pull away but the sand would not let go.

_Sabaku Kyuu_

The sand squeezed Lee's appendages until you could here the sound of bones cracking. Lee fell down and passed out. Gaara sent another wave of sand at Lee. Right when it was about to get Lee, Gai jumped down and turned away the sand with one blow.

"Why?" Gaara asked.

"Because…" Gai told him. "He's an important subordinate that I love."

Gaara stared at him for a moment with a blank look on his face. As he stood up, the sand began to form into the gourd on his back. He walked towards the balcony.

"I quit," he said.

"He quit…" Sakura said.

"The moment Gai went down there, Lee lost," Kakashi told her.

Hayate looked at Gaara walking away.

"Winner, Gaa…" He stopped when he saw Lee standing up out of the corner of his eye.

Everyone gasped. Gaara stopped walking and turned his head. Gai turned around to see Lee standing there battle-ready.

"This can't be…" Gai said. "Lee, mou ii. It's over. You don't need to stand…"

Gai stopped when he noticed something.

"Lee, omae…" Gai began to cry. "You're trying to prove your nindo even after you've lost consciousness."

Gai pulled Lee's unconscious body into an embrace.

"Winner, Gaara," Hayate announced.

"Lee-san!" Sakura exclaimed hopping up onto the rail.

"Sakura!" Kakashi stopped her. "Even if you go down there, what can you do?"

Sakura looked dejected.

"It's only going to be tougher on him if you try to cheer him up," Kakashi told her.

Gai laid Lee down on the floor. Naruto came running across the arena, sparing Gaara a glance as he passed him.

"Medical squad, please hurry," Hayate told them as they, too, approached.

"Gejimayu!" Naruto said as he looked down on Lee.

The medical squad quickly checked over Lee's body. One of them pulled Gai aside as the other two moved Lee to a stretcher. The medic who pulled Gai aside seemed to deliver some disparaging news. Naruto must have heard because he looked broken over it. The medic left Gai and walked away with the other two carrying Lee out of the arena.

"What's Gejimayu supposed to do if you tell him that?" Naruto screamed. "He said that a failure will beat a genius through hard work! Can't something be done…"

Kakashi appeared behind him and covered his mouth. "Calm down, Naruto."

Naruto threw Kakashi's hand away. "But, Kakashi-sensei, he wanted to fight Neji and Sasuke so badly!"

"That may have caused this unfortunate incident," Kakashi told him. "To make that dream come true, he used a self-damaging kinjutsu to try and win, and that is the result."

They stood there and watched until Lee was out of sight. Gai turned away[,] feeling sorry that he couldn't do any more for Lee. Gaara transported himself to the balcony. Kakashi patted Naruto on the shoulder and turned around to see Gai fighting agony. He took a few steps towards him but stopped.

"Gai," Kakashi called. "I was standing on a soap-box up there, but when I think about it if I were in your position, I would have done the same."

Kakashi saw no reaction from Gai. The electronic billboard was flashing the names of the last to contestants. He glanced back at Naruto who noticed and he turned back to Gai.

"Gai," Kakashi called a little harsher than before. "You're in the way of the next match. Let's go back up."

Gai whispered a response before all three made their way back up the stairs.

"Good luck!" Ino told Chouji.

"Remember your earplugs," Shikamaru told him.

Asuma bent over and whispered something into Chouji's ear, probably implanting images of a smorgasbord of meat.

Chouji made his way to the center of the arena looking, for the lack of a better term, motivated.

"The tenth and final match," Hayate announced. "Fighters, step forward."

Dosu Kinuta vs. Akimichi Chouji

"Now…" Hayate started. "Tenth match, begin."

"Ganbatte de yo!" Shikamaru cheered.

"Debu!" Ino shouted.

Chouji hated being called fat. A visible vein burst in his forehead. He mumbled something under his breath as he clenched his fists in anger.

"Then I'll finish this match without fooling around," Dosu told him. "O-debu-san!"

"Are you talking to me?" Chouji asked pissed off. "You bandaged imp!"

_Ninpou Baika no Jutsu _

"Konoha style taijutsu!" Chouji yelled as his body swelled and his appendages sucked into his body.

_Nikudan Sensha_

"Hurray for big boned people!" Chouji chanted as he spun into motion after Dosu.

"Yoshi, crush him, Chouji!" Ino cheered.

'That guy attacks with sound,' Shikamaru thought. 'So he doesn't have to make direct contact. But that's only if the ears are exposed. Chouji has his head sunk into his body, his earplugs in place, and is rotating at a high speed. How do you attack a ball of meat with sound?'

Dosu dodged Chouji's initial attack and kept a good distance, leading Chouji towards a wall. When it looked like Chouji had Dosu pinned, Dosu jumped out of the way, letting Chouji smash into the wall, making a huge hole in which Chouji, in his expanded state, became stuck. Dosu leapt at him and punched his swollen body.

"It's no use, I have earplugs in," Chouji told him.

"No, it's over for you," Dosu corrected as he flicked the device on his arm, sending shockwaves through Chouji's body.

Chouji screamed in pain as his technique dispelled, and he fell to the ground looking dizzy, disoriented and nauseous.

"Winner, Dosu Kinuta," Hayate announced taking pity on Chouji.

Dosu just turned and walked away now that the match was over.

The medical squad ran over to Chouji.

"Daijoubu ka, gaki?" One of the medics asked him.

"I want to eat meat," Chouji told them still a bit disoriented.

"The opponent went easy on him," Shikamaru said.

Ino sighed.

"He lost," Asuma said. "But I guess I can still treat him to barbeque."

Hayate coughed.

"That concludes the third exam's preliminary matches," Hayate said. "Would the winners of the matches please step forward."

"We'll go see if Chouji's alright," Asuma told Shikamaru. "You tell us what you find out."

Shikamaru grumbled. "How come I'm the only one who has to sit through lectures?"

Shikamaru walked down and stood in front of the small stage where Hayate was standing. Anko and Ibiki flanked Hayate on either side. The Hokage stood behind them on the stage. Shikamaru looked down the line of competitors. To his right were Neji and the quiet guy Shino. To his left were Gaara, Kankurou, Temari, Naruto and Dosu. He had a bad feeling about this whole thing.

'I'm going to end up working too hard.' Shikamaru sighed to himself. 'I just know it.'

"To those of you who have made it to the main matches of the Chuunin exam," Hayate looked over the genin. "Only one of you is not here at the moment, but congratulations."

"I will now begin the explanation of the main matches." The Hokage started. "The main matches will be shown in front of everyone. We wish that all of you will be able to show off your abilities as a representation of your country's power. Therefore, the main matches will begin in one month."

"We're not going to do it now?" Naruto asked.

"The month allows us the time to make preparations for the main matches." The Hokage answered calmly.

"What do you mean?" Neji asked.

"We're going to announce the matches to the Daimyo and the head shinobi of individual countries. Time is needed to arrange a means for everyone to gather for the main matches. This time can also be used as a time of preparation for you, the candidates."

"I still don't understand, explain," demanded Kankurou.

"You can use this time to know your opponent better and to know yourself better," the Hokage said. "It's a time to analyze the information you have gathered during the previous exams. The battles we had were just like real life combat. It was done where both parties knew nothing about each other."

'That's true,' Shikamaru thought. 'I didn't expect that guy to use sand as a weapon.'

"The main matches, however, will not be like that." The Hokage continued. "There are those of you who have revealed everything to your opponents. To make things fair, work hard and improve yourselves in the next month."

'Did he just say work hard?' Shikamaru thought. 'I knew it. What a pain!'

"Before we let you go, there is something we must do," the Hokage told them.

"What is it?" Naruto complained. "I have to hurry up and train."

"Don't get so hasty," the Hokage scolded. "Draw one piece from the box that Anko is holding."

"I'll walk to you, so take turns." She walked to Dosu first. "Just take one."

Dosu reached into the box and pulled out a piece of paper. Anko slid down to Naruto and continued down the line until everyone had drawn a piece of paper.

Shikamaru unfolded his and looked at it. 'Numbers?' He thought. 'Are we drawing for an order or something.'

"Yoshi, does everyone have one?" Ibiki called as he looked over the top of a clipboard. "Good, now tell me what number you have starting from the left."

"Hachi," Dosu called out.

"Ichi, dattebayo" Naruto mumbled.

"Nana," Temari said.

"Go," Kankurou grumbled.

"San," Gaara said flatly.

"Kyuu," Shikamaru drawled.

"Ni," Neji said.

"Roku," Shino said calmly.

"So he must be 'yon'," Ibiki said, writing something on the clipboard.

"Yes," the Hokage agreed. "We will now tell you the match-ups for the tournament."

"Ehh!" Naruto let out.

"That's what we drew for?" Shikamaru asked astonished.

"Ibiki," the Hokage said. "Show them the table."

"Hai," Ibiki said[,] turning the clipboard to face the Genin.

Everyone looked at the piece of paper.

Shikamaru quickly found his name at the far right. 'I actually have an extra match,' Shikamaru thought. 'It's against that Dosu guy, but I don't really want to avenge Chouji.'

"I have a question," Shikamaru raised his hand.

"Okay," the Hokage mused.

"If it's a tournament, that means there's only one winner, right?" Shikamaru asked. "Does that mean that only one person can become Chuunin?"

"No," the Hokage said. "That's not how it works. The main matches will have judges including myself, the Kazekage, the Daimyo as well as the head shinobi from other countries who will be potential clients. These judges will watch and grade you as you fight in the tournament, and those of you who are qualified to become Chuunin, even if you lose the first round, will become Chuunin."

"So there is a possibility that everyone here can become Chuunin?" Temari asked.

"Yes, but…" the Hokage countered. "That also means there is a possibility that none of you will become Chuunin. Winning your matches in the tournament means you will have more chances to show off your skills. Understand, Shikamaru-kun."

'Damn it,' Shikamaru thought. 'How come I'm the only one to get pointed out. This whole thing is troublesome.' Shikamaru looked down the line to where Dosu was standing. He seemed to be lost in thought about something other than the exam. If Shikamaru beat him, he would have to face…

Shikamaru shifted his gaze from the Oto shinobi to the Suna kunoichi a couple spots over. She seemed to be judging Dosu the same way he was a minute ago. She turned around and looked right at Shikamaru. His look reeked of 'why the fuck am I still here'. She gave Shikamaru a funny look and twisted her lips in thought before furrowing her brow and returning to Dosu.

'Hmph,' Shikamaru thought. 'She just wrote me off, troublesome woman.'

"That is all," the Hokage announced. "We are adjourned till next month."

Naruto made a bee-line for the exit. Everyone else just turned around and slowly began to walk away. Shino and Shikamaru were the last ones to file through the door.

'Asuma said they were going to visit Chouji,' Shikamaru thought as he looked down the hallway he had seen the medics carry him.

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders and began to walk that way.

"This way is faster." A calm voice behind him startled Shikamaru.

He turned around and saw Shino. Shikamaru looked at him quizzically.

"You're going to the infirmary," Shino pointed out. "One of my bugs told me this way is quicker." Shino raised a finger and pointed down an adjacent hallway.

'How did this guy know that's were I was going?' Shikamaru thought.

"Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei are waiting outside the infirmary as the injured are recuperating. My bug tells me he detects high levels of pheromones coming from that area."

"You don't think our senseis are…" Shikamaru started but didn't finish.

"It's a definite possibility," Shino said calmly.

* * *

A/N: I know the last few chapters have been cannon heavy, but it was necessary to progress the story. The next chapter will contain more original stuff. Thank You.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Sorry it took so long. Thanks once again to Big Paja for beta reading.

* * *

A Month

Shikamaru cleared his throat as he and Shino rounded the corner.

Asuma and Kurenai quickly put some distance between them as their students approached the infirmary. Asuma began to rub the back of his head and make unintelligible remarks under his breath. Kurenai flushed a little and found a spot on the wall that was more interesting than the Genin that stood before her.

Shino just stood there silently so Shikamaru determined that it was up to him to break the awkward silence.

"Uh," Shikamaru said. "How's Chouji?"

Asuma seized the opportunity that Shikamaru provided.

"Yes, well," he struggled for a moment before continuing. "Chouji's going to be fine. The medic said that he was just disoriented and dizzy."

Shikamaru just looked at him blankly so he continued.

"And…well…" Asuma said. "He also said that Chouji was a little…hungry."

"It sounds like he'll be alright," Shikamaru said.

Asuma was just happy that he was only pursuing that subject.

"Ino is visiting Chouji now," Asuma said. "By the way, what did they say about the third exam?"

Shikamaru knew that Asuma was trying to keep the conversation moving.

"They're not for another month," Shikamaru told him. "And I have an extra match."

"You don't sound too happy about it," Asuma told Shikamaru.

"Well," Shikamaru started to complain. "If you ask me, this whole thing is entirely too troublesome. Why would anyone want to subject themselves to such torture?"

"I believe it's to determine one's merit as to whether or not they have the qualities desired in a Chuunin." Shino joined the conversation. "Am I not correct?"

"You're absolutely right!" Kurenai jumped in nervously. "We should check on Kiba and Hinata." She directed him into the infirmary.

"Come on, let's go check on Chouji." Asuma said.

* * *

Team ten had made their way back into town and when the streets were familiar enough, Asuma dismissed them.

"I have…something to take care of," Asuma told them. "You guys did really well and I'm proud of you. For now, you can go home and relax. I'll get in touch if I need you."

"Yoshi," Ino said lacking her usual enthusiasm. "The first thing I'm going to do is take a nice, warm bath and a long nap."

"So hungry," Chouji muttered.

Shikamaru didn't say anything in fear that any plans he voiced would be shot down. Ino walked away in the direction of her home while Shikamaru turned to Chouji.

"Come on, buddy," he told him. "I'll walk you home."

Chouji nodded in agreement, grimacing from the pain in his stomach.

"Oh," Asuma called from behind them. "Shikamaru…"

Chouji turned to look but Shikamaru just paused where he stood. He knew what Asuma was going to say so turning around was pointless.

"Come by the house tomorrow," Asuma told him. "We'll go over your training."

"Hai, hai," Shikamaru mumbled letting Asuma know he had heard.

With that, Asuma left to go take care of … something. Chouji and Shikamaru started off towards Chouji's house. They walked in silence except for the hunger pangs that Chouji's stomach continued to voice. After a minute or so Chouji spoke.

"Congratulations, man," Chouji fought through the pain. "Do you know who you're going to fight or is it a random selection again?"

Shikamaru sighed. This was not the conversation he wanted to be having with Chouji. At least not while Chouji was in the condition he was in.

"You really shouldn't talk," Shikamaru told him. "And they had us draw for a tournament style bracket so I know who I'm going to fight first."

"Really?" Chouji groaned. "Who?"

Shikamaru paused in his walk and Chouji stopped alongside him.

"That Dosu guy from Otogakure," Shikamaru told him.

He could see the emotion written on Chouji's face.

"You have to kick his ass, Shikamaru," Chouji said showing no sign of the pain from before. Only the anger was prevalent in his voice.

Shikamaru just stared at his friend revealing no emotion. He raised a questioning eyebrow to Chouji's little outburst. When Chouji refused to let his emotion go, Shikamaru sighed as he looked away.

"Chouji," Shikamaru drawled. "In all the years you've known me, have I ever been the type to kick someone's ass? That's more Naruto's thing." Shikamaru turned back to look at his friend.

Chouji's expression still held the anger but it quickly changed through a series of other expressions that Shikamaru didn't know a human was capable of. The anger changed to remembrance then to disappointment then to understanding then to acceptance then to discovery and hope as an idea crossed his mind. Chouji smiled.

"That's true," Chouji said. "You aren't that violent."

Shikamaru shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled back at his friend.

"Could you do me a favor though?" Chouji asked.

"Hm," Shikamaru responded.

"Could you at least make him look stupid?" Chouji requested.

Shikamaru's lips curled into a smirk when he realized that Chouji knew him better then he knew himself. Chouji smirked back at his best friend knowing that he had played the right card.

"I'll see what I can do," Shikamaru told him as he started walking again.

They arrived at Chouji's house to be greeted by Chouji's mother running out of the house, engulfing Chouji in a massive hug and showering him with kisses. Shikamaru was briefly grateful his mother wasn't as smothering as Chouji's.

"Oh, my baby," she wailed. "You've been gone for almost a week. Daijoubu ka? Did they take good care of you?"

"I'm fine," Chouji said rubbing the remnants of saliva off of his face. "Very hungry though."

"I knew it," his mother said. "Come inside and I'll make a whole meal just for you."

Chouji beamed as his mother began dragging him inside.

"Ja mata na," Chouji threw over his shoulder as he disappeared into the house.

Shikamaru gave a wave his friend probably never saw before turning to head to his own house. When he walked in the door, he immediately thought of one thing: sleep. However, Ino was particularly right about one thing. A bath was definitely needed. Five days in the forest without proper facilities, combining perspiration and dirt, only meant one thing. Right now, in the stagnant air of the foyer, Shikamaru could smell his own ass. His mother would throw a conniption if she found him in her house like this.

'I should probably burn these clothes' he thought as he made for the bathroom.

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, Asuma and Chouji came over to the house.

"Asuma-sensei said he would treat me to all-you-can-eat barbeque if I helped you train," Chouji said.

'He bribed him with food,' Shikamaru thought. 'And they say I'm the lazy one.'

Asuma looked away from either of them scratching his beard.

"We should hurry up and get to the training ground before anyone else takes it," Asuma suggested.

Shikamaru eyed him wearily but shrugged.

At the training ground, they ran through a few exercises that they had already done before the Chuunin exam. He honestly thought Asuma was just trying to wear him out and for what Asuma knew, he was succeeding. Dodging Chouji for hours was not what he would call training but training was a term loosely defined in Shikamaru's vocabulary.

After a long day of putting forth minimal effort, Asuma took the two of them to the barbeque restaurant.

"Yahoo! Barbeque!" Chouji yelled as the server set down a plate of raw kalibri ribs on the table.

Chouji took no time covering the empty grill with pieces of meat.

"You guys worked hard today," Asuma told them over the sizzle of meat cooking. "We need to keep up the good work. We're going to do the same thing tomorrow."

Chouji ignored the whole thing as his concentration was fixed on the grill and saliva was leaking from the corners of his mouth, collecting in a pool on one of his chins. Shikamaru, who had remained silent most of the afternoon, decided to speak.

"Asuma-sensei, yo," he said. "We're just doing our normal training. I don't see how this is going to help me in the exam."

Asuma sighed knowing Shikamaru was never going to be enthusiastic about training.

"Look, Shikamaru," Asuma told him. "Training regularly will increase your underdeveloped stamina. A shinobi especially one your age should exercise his body as well as his mind. You should already know that."

Shikamaru just blinked at him a few times before he turned to look out the window. He wanted to voice his opinion. He wanted to explain his way out of the situation but he knew Asuma was too stubborn to let it go. He mentally cursed his stubbornness as he turned to stare at the meat that Chouji was now eagerly flipping over pieces of meat.

Shikamaru sighed as he gave in.

"Whatever you say," he told Asuma. "I still think we should be working on ideas for beating that Dosu guy."

"Don't worry about that," Asuma told him. "I'm sure you'll come up with something."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he snagged a rib from the grill. He had hoped Asuma would at least have some advice for him.

* * *

A soul, the thing that connects a person's physical existence to the spiritual realm, is the complex of human attributes that manifests as consciousness, feelings, emotions and will. It is sometimes referred to as one's moral compass which directs them through decisions in life. The soul is able to pick up on things that are not of the physical realm. Some refer to this as intuition, or ninja sense. The will of two shinobi about to battle is so strong that your soul can feel it inside. Some refer to that as killer intent.

Spiritual energy, extracted from the soul to perform techniques, varies from person to person. Some people are born with powerful souls while others are born with weak ones. People with weak souls do not make very good shinobi for they lack the will or the sense for the job. One's spiritual strength cannot be measured by any human standard, but a good shinobi can sense another's spiritual strength in his own soul.

"Does that answer your question?" Shikaku asked.

"Not really," Shikamaru replied. "I just wanted to know if there was a way to increase my spiritual energy."

Shikaku puffed a few times on his pipe stoking the embers of tobacco in the bowl to increase the smoke before inhaling deeply to allow his lungs to fully absorb the nicotine. He looked down from the sunset he and his son were enjoying from the porch to the languid young man.

"Well," he said removing the pipe from his lips and exhaling a long train of smoke causing his son's eyes to water. "There is no proven method for increasing your spiritual strength. Some say it grows as you age while others say it is only as strong as your will. Still others debate that your spiritual energy remains constant."

Shikamaru frowned. He was hoping for a way to get stronger without exerting himself too much.

"Sounds troublesome," he said. "Is there any other way?"

Shikaku scratched the whiskers on his chin, searching for any relevant information.

"There are the archaic traditions but they're rooted in darkness and extremely volatile."

"Darkness?" Shikamaru looked at him quizzically.

"For as long as anyone can remember, people have been trying to find ways to become more powerful. Many years ago before my time, someone found a way to extract a soul and unite it with another being. However, the unity of souls in a single being is very unstable, often killing the host. They discovered that joining the soul to a new-born host allows the host to survive but the mother's life is forfeit."

"That sounds horrible," Shikamaru commented.

"It is but they found a way to make shinobi more powerful," Shikaku turned back to catch the last rays of the sunset on the horizon.

"What of the host?"

"That depends on the soul of the host," Shikaku explained. "If the host's soul has the will to suppress the foreign soul, the union will be stable but if the host's soul is lacking the will, the host will become unstable as the foreign soul will fight for control."

"It doesn't seem worth the risk," Shikamaru said.

"Most people think that way but there are a few who still practice it. They see it as an evolution of humanity while most just see it as an abomination."

Shikamaru thought about it.

"Has your question been answered?" his father asked.

"It's troublesome but I guess Asuma-sensei was right about physical training."

"Hmmm," Shikaku thought for a second before realization hit him.

"We need to get inside before your mother scolds us."

* * *

A week went by and the training grew tiresome and mundane. Asuma searched for ways to get Shikamaru motivated to train harder but in the end, just getting him to train at all was a troublesome task. He quickly found that Shikamaru's greatest motivation was to not get bitched at. As much as Asuma hated bitching himself, he was left with very few alternatives.

As much as he loathed the idea of physical training, he found the actual training to be rather peaceful. Once Asuma was finished being a pain in the ass about actually doing the training, he was pretty calm. Asuma never yelled at him, only gave a few instructions, and kept his comments to a minimum. Asuma was a laid-back guy and didn't really try to cause a fuss unless he deemed it necessary. Obviously, he found it necessary to cause a fuss over the training. He even went as far as to involve Shikamaru's mom in the discussion. In some circles, that would be considered foul play.

Chouji on the other hand was easy to motivate. He would jump at the chance for free food and Asuma seemed willing to provide plenty of incentive. It got to the point where Asuma would only mention the word 'barbeque' and Chouji would push Shikamaru harder than he had before. Shikamaru was beginning to hate barbeque.

Now, the three of them were sitting at the barbeque restaurant which they frequented so much over the last week. Asuma and Shikamaru had seen Chouji go through more beef in one sitting than most individuals

could eat in a month. For a brief moment, Shikamaru thought he understood why girls were anorexic.

"Seconds!" Chouji beckoned through a mouthful of food to a passing waiter.

Shikamaru looked at his short friend and wondered if he could eat his weight in barbeque although,

Shikamaru wasn't about to suggest it out loud knowing very well that Chouji would take it as a challenge.

"Ten servings of Galbi, please!" Chouji ordered the waiter before he resumed gorging himself.

"I'm surprised you can eat so much," Shikamaru mumbled. "I'm getting sick just from watching you."

Chouji either didn't hear or ignored the comment and continued eating.

"Here's your order," the waiter returned with a plate full of raw meat.

"Sweet!" Chouji said.

Not wasting any time, Chouji grouped quite a few pieces of Galbi over the hot coals on the grill. Chouji

pointed to the grouping with his chopsticks while looking at Shikamaru.

"This is mine," Chouji claimed. "Don't eat it, Shikamaru."

"Don't worry," Shikamaru told him as he dug into a bowl of rice. "I won't."

Asuma could only watch in disgusted curiosity as his student tore through the food like a fat kid at a buffet.

"What are you guys doing?" A feminine voice called through the window. "Having barbeque for lunch?"

"Ino, Sakura," Shikamaru said as he looked at the two young ladies standing in the window.

"Shikamaru, shouldn't you be training for the main matches?" Ino questioned.

"I am training…everyday," he told her. "Since Asuma bitches at me everyday about it."

Asuma laughed heartily at Shikamaru's comment even though he never intended for it to be funny.

"Well, I'm having Chouji help with his training," Asuma informed Ino.

"Huh?" Ino looked shocked. "I'm surprised you decided to help."

"Well, they're paying me off by treating me to all-you-can-eat barbeque," Chouji confessed.

"I didn't know we had an all-you-can-eat barbeque place in town," Ino said bewildered.

"We don't," Asuma told her. "I'm paying for all of it."

"I see," she said.

Shikamaru yawned and stretched before he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in the booth.

"I shouldn't have won that match," he said offhandedly.

"Hey, there are a lot of people who would kill to be in your shoes," Asuma scolded.

Shikamaru wondered how true Asuma's statement really was.

"Yeah, yeah!" Sakura agreed.

"From what I heard," Asuma informed him. "The guys under Gai and Kurenai are undergoing rigorous training to prepare for the main matches."

"What?" Shikamaru asked despondently.

"Even if you made it to the main matches, it wouldn't look good if you lost in the blink of an eye," Asuma teased trying once again to motivate him.

Shikamaru's brow began to sweat.

"Oh," he groaned. "This is too troublesome."

Asuma looked defeated. He wondered if anything would motivate the young man.

"Really, Shikamaru," Ino sounded agitated. "Would it kill you to show some kind of effort?"

Ino narrowed her eyes at him. Sensing her irritation, Shikamaru looked away from her knowing it would only frustrate her more.

"Fine," she huffed. "We're going to the hospital to visit Sasuke-kun. Come on, Sakura."

Ino walked off and Sakura shook her head clear of her thoughts before rushing to catch up with her.

Chouji finished the round of meat and was ordering another. Shikamaru massaged his temples with his finger tips. Why were people always trying to pressure him into doing things? Why couldn't they just let him handle it his own way on his own time instead of rushing him to do it faster? These are the things that plague his mind. These are the things that make him envious of clouds.

Shikamaru stared dejectedly out the window at the few rolling clouds in the distance.

The sound of Asuma rifling through his wallet caught his attention. Asuma seemed to be mulling over the expense of such a meal and comparing it to the money he had in his wallet. Shikamaru could tell by the look on his face that the numbers didn't match up.

"Uh, Shikamaru" he said sheepishly. "Could I borrow a few Ryou?"

* * *

Half the month was already gone and Shikamaru was sure this training was completely useless. Also, he was

sure that reminding Asuma of its uselessness was useless in itself. Useless or not, Asuma was still going to

make him do it.

Chouji was becoming extremely easy to predict. After seeing his attacks for over two weeks, it was almost

as if he could predict the move before he made it. Chouji's strength was impressive. After seeing it in action

and having it bearing down on him, Shikamaru found his short, pudgy friend to be

a very strong ally. He would have been a fierce opponent if not for his predictability.

Today, Asuma told him to meet him at his place so here he stood knocking on the door of what appeared to

be an empty house. Shikamaru scratched the back of his head in frustration.

"Ohayou, Shikamaru-kun," a feminine voice called from behind him.

Shikamaru turned his head to see who it was.

"Kurenai-sensei?" Shikamaru asked.

She smiled at him sweetly as he turned around to face her.

"Uh," he stammered. "I don't think Asuma-sensei's home."

He took a quick glance back at the house.

"He's the one that told me to meet him here," he drawled. "I came all the way here for nothing, how troublesome."

Kurenai laughed at his disposition.

"Hokage-sama called him away for an important mission," she told him. "He asked me if I would supervise your training for the day."

"Oh," he said. "What about Shino?"

"Shino's training with his father so I have the day off," she told him.

"And you chose to spend it with me," Shikamaru said sarcastically.

The smile left Kurenai's face as she looked with longing at Asuma's empty house.

"Well, Asuma asked me to," she said quietly.

Shikamaru saw the look in her eyes and decided not to press the subject further. She was doing Asuma a favor and even if it was troublesome.

"So what are we going to do today?" he asked.

"What does Asuma have you working on?"

"Usually, Asuma-sensei bribes Chouji with barbeque to chase me around for hours," he told her sarcastically. "But you might not want to spend the money. Chouji is known for his ability to eat."

Kurenai thought for a moment her eyes making small jerking movements as her brain was processing information.

"That explains it," she mumbled.

"Nani?"

"Oh, nothing," she told him.

"You know, you don't have to help if you don't want to," he told her. "It's fine by me."

Shikamaru was sincerely hoping she would opt out and give him the day off. He could think of a whole lot of other things he'd rather be doing.

"No, it's ok," she told him. "Besides, I promised Asuma I'd help out."

Shikamaru's posture oozed disappointment.

They went to the training ground where Kurenai stood in thought. Shikamaru was about to walk over to a tree and lie down beneath it when she came up with an idea.

"I watched your match with that Oto kunoichi," she told him. "She used a simple genjutsu on you. Didn't you know how to dispel it?"

Shikamaru shook his head.

"Do you know what genjutsu is?" she asked.

"Hai."

She looked at him in disbelief. She had seen the academy grades and knew for sure that he was one of the lowest in the class.

"Tell me what you think it is," she told him.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. Was she testing him? Why? He never understood a woman's reasoning for anything. He thought for a moment. She was a woman after all so he'd better keep this explanation brief.

"An illusion in which the user controls the opponent's perception through chakra," Shikamaru stated dryly.

"Close," she told him. "It's when the user controls the opponent's five senses by using his chakra to control his opponent's chakra flow to the brain."

'Damn woman,' Shikamaru thought. 'I tried to keep it simple but she wanted to complicate things.'

"To dispel a genjutsu," she continued. "You must stop your chakra flow completely and start it back up again."

Shikamaru thought about what she said and it made sense. He nodded to confirm he understood.

"Yoshi, I'm going to catch you in a genjutsu and I want you to try and dispel it," she said running through hand seals.

"Huh?" Shikamaru barely grunted out before he felt something crawling up his legs. He looked down to see vines sprouting up from the ground wrapping around his legs and working their way up his body. Somewhat panicked, Shikamaru remembered what he was supposed to do. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of him with his index fingers in an upward arrow. Stopping his chakra flow was pretty easy considering he didn't have much chakra to begin with.

"Kai," he said as he restarted his chakra flow.

Shikamaru immediately felt the vines release. He opened his eyes to make sure.

"That's it," she told him. "You've successfully dispelled a genjutsu. Congratulations."

Shikamaru just stared at her. He didn't need to be patronized.

"That was a beginner level genjutsu," she said. "They're pretty easy to dispel but some of the more advanced ones are a little harder."

"What do I do if I can't dispel a genjutsu?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well," she thought for a second. "A friend can disrupt the chakra flow for you if you're stuck but if you're alone, physical pain works best."

Shikamaru swallowed hard. The idea of being the cause of your own pain was rather farfetched to him but he could see the logic in it, using the body's nervous system to 'shock' the brain back into reality. He shuddered as he ran through possible ways to cause himself pain.

"Daijoubu," she told him. "I don't think any of the Genin can use that strong of a genjutsu just yet. If they can, they're almost certainly going to become Chuunin."

"Was that supposed to reassure me?" he asked.

She thought for a moment.

"I guess it's not that reassuring, ne?" she said.

He looked away from her to his heavenly distraction. They rolled quietly across the sky. For a moment, he wondered if the clouds were a genjutsu used to keep his mind from the real world. He looked back at Kurenai who was offering a very unconvincing smile of assurance.

If the clouds were a genjutsu, it was one genjutsu he would never dispel.

* * *

The month was almost up and Asuma still had him working on physical training. Shikamaru had come under the impression that Jounin senseis were the highest paid shinobi in the village. They would have to be in order for Asuma to afford to buy Chouji off like this. His Genin paycheck wasn't much to talk about and was mostly confiscated by his mother who laughed as she said it was pay for his room and board.

_Nikudan Sensha_

Chouji's assault brought him out of his thoughts. Shikamaru held his hands in the _Ne_ seal as he prepared for his technique.

_Ninpou Kagemane no…._

He tried molding his chakra but as he did he felt nothing. He was empty.

'Shit,' he thought. 'I'm out of chakra.'

Chouji's imposing ball of flesh now looked like a grim end. He made a break for the tree line and hopped over a small bush into cover. Chouji veered away from the line of trees causing the ground that was torn up in his wake to shower down upon his best friend.

Shikamaru shook his head and patted his hair in an attempt to get the dirt off.

"Doushita, Shikamaru?" Asuma asked as he walked up behind him. "Is that all you've got?"

Shikamaru sighed.

"This is so troublesome," he spoke his thoughts out loud.

"Yoshi, Chouji, one more time," Asuma ordered.

"Mou ii," Shikamaru said. "I give up."

He fell back onto his ass, taking a seated position on the ground.

"Huh?!" Chouji had vested interest in what's going on.

Asuma just stared at him.

"I've reached my limit," Shikamaru told him. "I don't have anything left."

Asuma scratched his head for a moment. When he looked at Chouji he got an idea.

"How 'bout we take an early lunch and see if you can go again after, huh?"

"Yeah!" Chouji yelled.

Shikamaru knew there was no way Asuma was going to let him out of training.

He got up and dusted himself off. He took a few steps forward and almost collapsed.

"Daijoubu ka?" Asuma asked.

Shikamaru wavered for a moment.

"I'll be alright," he told him. "Just a little exhausted."

Asuma reached over and steadied him.

"You just need to rest a little," he said. "Come on, we'll rest at the restaurant."

Asuma helped him on the way to the barbeque place, every now and then supporting his weight to give an exhausted Shikamaru a break. When they arrived at the restaurant, Chouji was more than eager to get started.

"Welcome," the host called happy to see their most frequent customers.

"Time to eat!" Chouji yelled pumping his fist in the air as he entered. "First I want galbi, sirlon and cow tongue."

Asuma steadied Shikamaru and let him carry his own weight. Feeling a little better, he shoved his hands in his pockets and took a few steps towards the entrance when he sensed something. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, he scanned the area but found nothing suspicious.

"What is it?" Asuma asked.

"Nothing, I guess," he said. "I thought someone was watching us."

Asuma looked around but didn't find anything either.

"I don't see anyone suspicious," he told him.

Shikamaru just shrugged his shoulders. It was just a feeling.

Inside, Chouji ordered everything on the menu, twice. The early lunch ended up taking a lot longer than most. In fact, Shikamaru had recovered from his exhaustion after a couple of hours but he was in no hurry to return to training. That's why he never said anything about the length of time the lunch was taking.

By the time they left the restaurant, Chouji was looking a lot larger than usual. He looked as if he was running around in his _Baika_ technique. Chouji rubbed his stomach as he and Shikamaru waited outside for Asuma to convince the store owner to extend him a line of credit.

"Ooo hoo hoo," Chouji squealed as he rubbed his stomach. "That was awesome, Shikamaru."

"I'm sure it was," he responded checking the door to see if Asuma had succeeded.

"Barbeque is the greatest," Chouji expounded. "You should eat more. You need to put some more meat on your bones."

"No thanks," he told him. "You already eat enough for all of us."

"You're going to put me in the poor house," Asuma said walking up behind them. "I need to find a second job to supplement my income."

Chouji smiled and patted the bulging stomach.

"I am a force to be recon…" Chouji stopped short as a low rumble erupted from his swollen stomach.

"Are you alright?" Shikamaru asked.

"Whoa," Chouji let out as his stomach made a few unnatural sounds.

"Chouji," Asuma voiced in concern.

Chouji's eyes rolled and he fell backwards, crashing to the ground with a loud thud.

"Chouji!" Asuma and Shikamaru cried, rushing to Chouji's side.

"Uhhh," Chouji moaned from the pain.

"What's wrong with him?" Asuma asked scratching his head.

"I think he ate too much," Shikamaru said searchingly.

Asuma looked down at Chouji who was, at this time, catatonic.

"Is that possible?" he asked.

Shikamaru poked Chouji's stomach with his index finger, causing him to moan.

"I think it just happened," he told Asuma.

* * *

They took Chouji to the hospital where he was admitted, given treatment and ordered to bed rest by the physician on duty. Chouji had to stay overnight so Shikamaru went home for the evening. The next day, he brought a fruit basket for Chouji and a portable Shougi board for himself. Even if Chouji refused to play against him he could still have fun by himself.

As he signed in he noticed that Uzumaki Naruto was written on the list of patients. He finished checking in and nodded to the nurse behind the counter before making his way down the hall stopping at his destination. He rapped on the door twice before sliding it open.

"Doumo," he called out to his disgruntled friend.

Chouji turned to look at him.

"I brought you some fruits," he said holding up the basket for Chouji to see.

Chouji let out a groan and turned his head back to staring at the ceiling.

"And Shougi," he continued but it didn't seem to do much.

Chouji continued to stare at the ceiling.

"What did they tell you?" Shikamaru asked.

Chouji opened his mouth to speak but his stomach growled before any words could escape his mouth.

Rather than ask again, Shikamaru raised a questioning eyebrow.

"The doctor said my body had a bad reaction to the amount of barbeque I ate," Chouji grumbled still not looking in the direction of Shikamaru. "They put me on a diet."

Shikamaru smiled and chuckled internally. He wouldn't make fun of his friend but as a cynic he fully appreciated the irony of the situation.

Chouji rolled over and looked at him.

"I can't eat the fruits you brought." Chouji groaned. "The doctor said it might worsen my condition."

Shikamaru frowned. He just wanted his friend to feel better.

"Please, Shikamaru," Chouji begged. "Don't tease me with the food. It's bad enough already."

Shikamaru looked down at the basket of fruit in his hand, the thing that seemed to be the cause of his friend's discomfort.

"Alright, Chouji," he said. "I won't tease you any more. I just hope you get better soon."

Shikamaru turned and slid the door open, looking over his shoulder at his friend.

"Try to listen to the doctors," he told him. "I know it's a pain in the ass but they have your best interest in mind."

With that, he left Chouji's room and began making his way down the hall. A room number he had seen on the registry caught his attention. He decided not to make the visit to the hospital a waste. Besides, the only thing waiting at home for him was his mother.

Shikamaru shook the thought out of his head. He tucked the Shougi board under his arm and reached for the door with his free hand.

"Sumimasen," a nurse called out. "May I help you?"

"I was looking for a friend's room," he said. "I believe this is it, Uzumaki Naruto?"

The nurse flipped the chart she was holding.

"Hai, but Uzumaki-kun was admitted three days ago and he's still unconscious."

"Daijoubu desu ka?" he asked concernedly.

"His vitals are fine," she told him. "He's just sleeping. The doctor expects him to awaken anytime now."

Shikamaru looked at her questioningly.

"You can visit him if you want to," she told him with a kind smile.

Shikamaru just nodded and slid the door open. Naruto was asleep in the hospital bed just as the nurse said.

"If you need anything, just let us know," the nurse offered as she continued on with her rounds.

Shikamaru found a table at the foot of the bed that was the perfect size for his Shougi board. He set it down on the table and dragged a chair away from the wall for himself. After setting up the pieces, he glanced over at Naruto who was still sound asleep.

"Three days," Shikamaru whispered to himself. "I can't even sleep that long."

He made the first move and flipped the hourglass over. Reading the board backwards was a challenge but it was less troublesome than getting up and switching places all the time. To make it more interesting, he chose strategies for each side that he knew would clash with each other and cause him to think of a way out of it.

After fifteen minutes, he glanced back over at Naruto.

"Man, this guy sleeps a lot," he mumbled. "Maybe he's dead."

He moved a piece from the other side of the board and flipped the hourglass again. When he did so, the sand stopped falling inside.

"What's this?" He gave the hour glass a small shaking. "Damn, it's stuck."

He set the hourglass back down and let a quick 'troublesome' escape his lips. He scratched the back of his head, mentally complaining about the inconvenience when he heard Naruto begin to stir. He looked over and saw Naruto's eyes fluttering open.

"Yo! You're finally awake."

"Where am I?"

"The hospital, I heard you were asleep for three days straight," Shikamaru said with astonishment.

"Three days?" a groggy Naruto asked.

Shikamaru smirked at him.

"Three days!!!" Naruto screamed as he jumped up in the bed.

"N-nan da?"

"Shikamaru, when are the final matches?!"

"Uh…tomorrow," he said unsure of what Naruto's response would be.

"Nani!" Naruto reached down from the bed and grabbed him by the jacket. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?! I don't have time to just sleep here! Where's Ero-sennin? Huh? Where is he? I need him to supervise my training."

By the end, his rant had turned into a whine.

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked. "I have no idea what you're carrying on about."

Naruto grew more frustrated and let go of him. He began searching in the strangest of places.

"My clothes are gone. Where are they?"

Shikamaru rubbed the frustration out of his face.

"He's sleeping one minute and causing a ruckus the next," he mumbled to himself.

Naruto continued to panic, putting the hospital room into a state of disarray.

"Calm down!" Shikamaru yelled.

Naruto froze in an awkward position.

"There's no point in panicking the day before. Besides, resting can be considered part of your training."

Naruto plopped back down on the bed facing away from Shikamaru.

"Oi, Naruto," he questioned. "What's wrong?"

Naruto's stomach made a sound reminiscent of Chouji's. He turned around, eyes watering.

"I'm hungry."

Shikamaru frowned.

"Come on," he said. "Don't scare me like that."

Shikamaru remembered the fruit basket.

"Oh, yeah."

He reached down and grabbed the basket, plopping it on the bed for Naruto to see.

"It's troublesome but I brought these fruits for Chouji. However, the doctor said that he can't eat them so let's eat them together."

"Chouji?" Naruto asked. "He's hurt that badly?"

"Don't get the wrong idea," Shikamaru said. "He ate too much barbeque and his stomach isn't feeling well."

Naruto burst into laughter, kicking his feet as he held his stomach.

"That sounds just like Chouji, all right."

Shikamaru picked up an apple as Naruto calmed down.

"Girls don't come to visit guys like you," Shikamaru told him, then tossed him the apple. "Here."

Naruto caught the apple and frowned.

"I wish Sakura-chan would've come to see me," Naruto whined. "But she's always going on about Sasuke."

Shikamaru looked at him with a half-smirk.

"Don't let it bother you," he said. "The girls that obsess over the cool guys are the weak ones. Besides…" the half-smirk turned into a smile. "Guy's like us who aren't so cool will get to pick from the better ones."

This seemed to ease Naruto's mind a little. He looked at the apple, then began polishing it on his shirt.

"This looks good," he said emphatically as he drew the apple towards his mouth to take a bite. He stopped just before he bit down.

"Nan da yo?"

Naruto laughed as he covered his mouth.

"Let's eat these in front of Chouji."

Shikamaru looked down and shook his head.

"What a troublesome guy."

Naruto bit into the apple and began chewing. Shikamaru felt a cold chill run down his spine. He felt an evil, murderous intent that he had felt somewhere before. He sat up straight, trying to fix the location of the deadly purpose.

Completely engrossed in consuming the apple, Naruto remained blissfully unaware of the situation. When Shikamaru stood to his feet, Naruto began to wonder what was troubling him.

"What is it?" He asked not particularly concerned with the volume at which it was asked.

Shikamaru held an index finger to his lips that suggested Naruto remain quiet. The suggestion went unheeded as Naruto asked again.

"Doushita, Shikamaru?" Naruto was now climbing out of the bed.

Shikamaru made his way towards the door, sliding it open and sticking his head into the hallway. He looked both ways before fixating to his left.

Naruto grew quickly impatient and let it be known by groaning in frustration.

"Shikamaru, what's going on?"

"Can't you sense it?" came a dry reply.

"Sense what?" Naruto calmed down as much as he could try to hear something that wasn't there.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Shikamaru began walking down the hall in the direction of the killer intent. Naruto followed curiously. Shikamaru stopped at one door before deciding to move on to the next. This door was partially cracked, allowing someone standing in the doorway a view of the room. As he gazed in, he was shocked by what he saw.

Naruto saw the expression on Shikamaru's face and curiosity overwhelmed him. He used his low center of gravity to push his taller friend out of the way. Naruto's face lit up with surprise and the urge to yell something quickly grew inside of him.

Shikamaru, knowing his friend's habits, quickly covered his friend's mouth with his hand as he slid the door open the remainder of the way, quietly slipping into the room. He put his hands together and his shadow snaked across the floor capturing Gaara and stopping his movement.

"Temae!" Naruto couldn't help it anymore. He dashed across the room landing a right hook to Gaara's face.

As Gaara's head twisted from the impact so did Shikamaru's.

"What the hell are you doing here!" Naruto screamed.

"Oi, Naruto," Shikamaru wiped the sweat from his face. "When I use my Shadow Mimic technique, I move along with him. Got it?"

"Wari, Shikamaru," he replied walking over to stand next to him.

"What are you trying to do?"

They watched as the sand on Gaara's face repaired itself. Gaara remained silent, staring at them with disinterest. Lee lay in the hospital bed unconscious. Naruto couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Hey," he yelled. "What did you try to do to Gejimayu?"

"I was trying to kill him," Gaara answered simply.

Naruto and Shikamaru were surprised to say the least.

"What?" Naruto mumbled.

'How can he remain so calm?' Shikamaru thought. 'He shouldn't be able to move when I'm holding him down with my shadow.'

"Why do you need to do that? You already won the match. Do you have some sort of personal grudge against him?"

"No," Gaara answered flatly. "I'm going to kill him because I want to kill him."

"Nani! That's the most selfish thing I've ever heard!" Naruto screamed pointing an accusatory finger at Gaara.

"Oh, my…" Shikamaru stammered. "You must have grown up in a bad environment. You're really narcissistic."

He looked at the guy. His facial expression never betrayed anything. He was cornered in a situation with enemies unknown, unable to move but he remained expressionless. Shikamaru knew he was freakishly strong. He also knew that Naruto and he were in the bottom of their class. With an unconscious Lee presenting an obstacle and the close quarters, the situation was growing quickly out of hand.

"If you interfere, I will kill you, too," Gaara told them.

"Just try it, then," Naruto shouted back shaking a fist at him.

"Oi, cut it out, Naruto," Shikamaru was growing tired of his impatience. Naruto probably didn't realize the situation they were in. Putting on his most confident face, Shikamaru tried to bluff.

"We know that you're strong because we saw your match in the Chuunin exams but he and I are pretty strong as well." He smirked as the words fell out of his mouth. "We still haven't shown our best stuff yet and it's two on one. You're at a disadvantage so if you listen to us, we might be able to let you go."

"I'm only going to tell you one more time." Gaara was unfazed. "If you interfere, I will kill you."

'Koitsu…' Shikamaru thought.

"You can't kill me!" Naruto was brimming with false confidence.

"I keep telling you to stop doing that," Shikamaru whispered to Naruto. "He's as strong as a monster. You know that."

Naruto let his hand fall to his side but kept his confident gaze.

"I have a real monster inside me," he lowered his voice to sound tougher. "I won't lose to him."

This was bad. Naruto was ready to start a battle in the middle of the hospital room. Shikamaru elbowed Naruto.

"Don't piss him off, ahou " he whispered.

He wasn't sure if Naruto had heard or heeded what he had said. Naruto was still locking stares with Gaara.

"A monster?" Gaara lowered his gaze and closed his eyes. "Then I am the same. As you said, I did not grow up in a nice environment. When I was born, I took the life of the one who carried me. To create the ultimate weapon, my father used a ninjutsu to bind an incarnate of the sand to me. I was a monster at birth."

'Incarnate of the sand,' Shikamaru thought remembering a conversation he had with his father.

"It's called Shukaku and it was sealed in a teakettle," Gaara continued. "It is the living soul of an elder priest from Sunagakure no Sato."

Shikamaru scoffed.

"It must have been one of those binding techniques that unite a soul and a host before birth. To think that you guys would resort to such an archaic practice…" He paused. "You must be crazy."

As he said it, he realized that Naruto, standing next to him, had claimed the same thing. The room was silent but Shikamaru made sure his Shadow stayed attached to Gaara. If they could keep him talking, maybe they would get out of this thing without a fight.

"That's not what a parent should do," Shikamaru kept the conversation going. "That's a twisted way to show love."

"Love?" Gaara said. "Don't measure me by your values."

His voice didn't raise but his pace quickened.

"Family?" he continued. "Let me tell you what kind of bond I have with them. To me, they are just lumps of meat linked together by hatred and murderous intent. I took my mother's life and was created to be my village's masterpiece. As the Kazekage's son…"

Shikamaru could only imagine what the rest of Kazekage's children had gone through.

"My father taught me the secrets of ninjutsu," Gaara went on. "I grew up spoiled, over-protected and left alone. I thought that was love."

He closed his eyes.

"Until the incident."

"The incident?" Shikamaru wasn't really curious but thought it wise to keep him talking.

Gaara opened his eyes again.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

Gaara just stared at both of them.

"So what happened?" Naruto asked a bit more anxious.

"It started when I was six and has continued over the past six years." His eyes grew wide. "My father has tried to assassinate me on numerous occasions."

Shikamaru was shocked for a second, then remembered what he had said earlier.

"But you said that he spoiled you?"

"A being that is too strong eventually becomes the embodiment of fear," his arm twitched as it struggled against the shadow. "Since I was born through the binding technique, my mind has become unstable. The idiots in my village noticed that my emotions were unpredictable. To the Kazekage, my father, I was the village's trump card. However, I was also a threat. When I turned six, they labeled me a dangerous being. I was the village's tool but was still handled with care."

"I am a relic of the past that they want to get rid of," he concluded. "So why do I exist? Why am I alive? I asked myself that question many times and could not find an answer. I need a reason to be alive or it's just like being dead."

"What is he talking about?" Shikamaru asked.

"This is what I concluded," Gaara said. "I exist to kill everyone other than me. I finally found relief in the fear of being assassinated at any time. By killing the assassins, I was able to discover my reason to live."

Shikamaru couldn't imagine such a fucked up life.

"I fight only for myself, and love only myself. As long as I think that other people are here to help me confirm my existence, life is wonderful. As long as there are people to kill in this world, I will continue to exist."

'What's with this guy?' Shikamaru thought. 'He's insane.'

Shikamaru noticed that the normally troublesome Naruto had been uncharacteristically quiet. He heard Naruto take a step back. He turned to look at him.

"Doushita, Naruto?"

Naruto remained quiet. Shikamaru could see the fear in his eyes. He was visibly shaken.

The sound of sand moving in waves snapped Shikamaru's attention back to Gaara who was still being held by his shadow. Gaara stood still as sand swirled around him rising into the air.

'Nani?' Shikamaru thought. 'He shouldn't be able to move.'

The sand began to move more rapidly, rising higher in the air, almost touching the ceiling. Shikamaru ran through the scenario in his mind and the first thing he needed to do was secure Lee and make an escape. He turned to let Naruto know the plan but Naruto was both mentally and physically frozen.

"Naruto!" He yelled. "Naruto, snap out of it!"

Naruto made no indication of compliance.

'What a troublesome guy.'

"Naruto!"

The sand started to descend on them.

"Let me feel," Gaara spoke ominously.

The sand increased in speed, branching into two.

"This is it for us!" Shikamaru pointed out.

The sand was almost there.

"Hold it right there!" a voice came from the doorway.

The sand fell to the ground and conscious heads swivelled to see the owner of the voice.

"The main matches are tomorrow," Gai said. "There is no need to get hasty or do you want to get hospitalized today."

Gaara looked disturbed. Grabbing his head with his hands, he groaned as if he were being physically abused. The sand in the room began to pour violently back into the gourd on his back. When all of his sand had returned, Gaara's left hand dropped and he eyed them warily before shuffling towards the door. He walked right past Gai and put his hand on the door. Looking back over his shoulder, he spoke.

"I will kill you guys for sure. You just wait."

Gaara walked away.

Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat that was collecting on his brow. He turned to check on Naruto who was still frozen in thought. He turned to Gai who was looking over Lee who was still unconscious in the bed.

"Arigatou, Gai-sensei," he told Gai.

Gai stayed focused on Lee for a moment before turning to Shikamaru.

"It's alright," he said with a huge smile that reflected the light. "The main matches are tomorrow. You guys should go home and rest."

"Oh," Shikamaru said. "You're right."

He turned and grabbed Naruto by the arm. Naruto, who had been zoned out, slowly turned to look at him.

"Iku ze."

Naruto blinked a few times before coming back to reality.

"Hai," he said softly and followed Shikamaru out of the room.

* * *

Shikamaru went home. Resting sounded like a great idea. It was the only plan he had for the evening but the way it stands, his plans were of no consequence to his mother. She was the boss in the family and she tended to lord it over him. He knew something was amiss when he got home because he could sense his mother's foul mood the moment he set foot through the door. He immediately wished he had been a little quieter.

His mother was pissed because his father had not returned in time for dinner. So, instead of resting the night before the main matches, he was out looking for his father. He would have tried to explain the situation to his mother but his past experiences taught him that it wouldn't matter. Whatever she had her mind set on, he was going to do, end of story.

Shikamaru walked the streets, cursing the day that he was born, cursing the women who found it their mission in life to make his miserable. He had a good idea where his father was at because this wasn't the first time he had to find him after hours. Every-so-often, his father would get together with his old teammates and lose track of time. That's when his mother would send him on an expedition to find him and bring him home.

Shikamaru found the establishment his father and his former teammates frequented. He already knew his father was in there because he could hear Chouza bellowing for the bartender.

"Oi, oyaji" Chouza said loud enough for people down the street to hear. "I'd like to place an additional order. Everything on these two pages."

Shikamaru slid the door open and entered.

"Right away," the bartend said.

At the sound of the door, Chouza had turned to see who entered. He leaned back to look around Inoichi and Shikaku to see Shikamaru walk through the door.

"Oh, looks like we have a strong ally here," he said. "Come over here and order something."

Shikamaru sighed. He was worse than Chouji.

Shikaku, who had been in a riveting discussion with Inoichi, peered over his shoulder to look at his son. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head as he walked closer to the bar. It was too troublesome to yell over the noise. His father picked up the square-shaped container in front of him and took a sip.

"Oi, oyaji."

"Huh?" his father was confused as to why he was there.

"Let's go home already."

"What did you say?" Shikaku squinted and leaned forward to get a better look at his son. "Don't tell me what to do."

He raised his container in the air.

"You're supposed to have fun at the festival."

"Festival?" Shikamaru grumbled. "This is too troublesome."

"Baka," his father said. "Since the old times…"

At that moment, Shikaku decided it was a good idea to finish his drink. When he finished, he exhaled and the stench of alcohol mixed with tobacco caused Shikamaru to blink his eyes.

"These main matches are like a festival," he told his son like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Shikamaru dropped his shoulders and looked at his father.

"I have to participate in those main matches tomorrow" he sighed. "Don't make me come here to bring you back home."

"You…" his father set down the container that he was ceremoniously hoisting. "You're actually going to participate."

It was more his father thinking out loud than an actual question.

"Please, oyaji."

Shikaku looked at his son for a second. The alcohol seemingly slowing down his thought process. He stood up from the bar stool and pulled a few bills out of his pocket, tossing them on the counter.

"I have to go, guys," he announced to his friends who looked somewhat disappointed. "My son is participating in the exams tomorrow."

"Oh," Chouza roared. "Ganbatte."

Inoichi raised his glass in honor.

Shikamaru followed his father as he stumbled out of the bar. When his father started to walk in the wrong direction, he grabbed his arm to redirect him.

"I know where I'm going," his father complained but made no effort to pull away.

They walked the streets until his father decided he needed a break, sitting down on the front step of a building. Shikamaru just stood in the street, waiting for his father to catch his breath. As he waited, he looked at his surroundings. He noticed light was emanating from a window upstairs and upon further investigation he saw the Suna kunoichi sitting in that window.

He remembered their brief encounters thus far and how stand-offish she was. She was just like every other woman that was out to ruin his life. Then he recalled who her teammate was and panic set in. He scanned the area looking for any signs of the monster he had encountered earlier. The darkness didn't help much but he knew staying around here would be troublesome.

Shikamaru scooped his father up, who was straddling the line of consciousness, and carried him home. His mother, to say the least, was none too pleased with his father's state but she knew an unconscious man was not going to be affected by her scolding. She ushered Shikamaru off to bed, telling him that sleep was important and that he had a big day tomorrow.

Shikamaru wondered what his mother was going to do to his father.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: another long chapter. Thanks once again to Big Paja who took the time to beta read.

* * *

"**Kumo wa Ii Naa" **

He awoke to the unpleasant sound of his mother's harsh voice signaling the arrival of morning. Disheartened by the interruption of his slumber, he greeted the day with a hoarse and pessimistic 'troublesome'. Dragging himself to the dining room, he noticed that the house was in the same condition it was the night before. There were no broken items lying about. There was no overturned furniture. The suspicious absence of a path of destruction leading towards his parents' room caused him to wonder what his father had done to escape his mother's wrath.

Upon entering the dining room, he was greeted by his father with a simple nod. He took in his father's appearance noting that aside from the scars there was no evidence of maiming or dismemberment. He took the seat opposite his father and was tempted to inquire as to how he managed to avoid such a devastating confrontation. However, his mother had entered the room which took the opportunity away.

Both men stood as the lady of the house took her place at the end of the table, serving what could be called breakfast. Asa gohan consisted of rice and… Well, that was pretty much it. He stared blankly at the bowl of rice laid before him before looking questioningly at his father. His father never caught the look because he was preoccupied with making eyes with his mother. The questioning look changed to one of confusion.

"Eat up, honey," his mother said gesturing to the bowl of plain rice in front of him. "You have a big day today."

He looked at her with a frown before picking up his hashi.

"Itadakimasu," he said with all the enthusiasm he could muster.

Pinching a small clump of rice between the sticks, he took a bite of it as he carefully observed his parents' non-verbal interaction. At no point did he pick up the enmity that he had seen last night nor did he sense the smug aura of self-satisfaction that his mother usually had when she had proven her point through force. No, his mother was strangely happy and it made him nervous. His father was in one piece so her anger may have been redirected somewhere else.

The thought was disturbing.

Since the third exam wasn't until the afternoon, his mother insisted that he do his chores while he had the time. Even though he complained about it, he did them anyway. Because if he didn't do them now, his mother would make him do them afterwards and the nagging question of how his dad got off scot-free only soured his mood even more.

His father left for a mission he didn't talk about and Shikamaru wasn't in the habit of asking. That just left him and his mother for lunch which was quite awkward considering that her good mood had continued on throughout the day.

After lunch was over, he quickly left the house, making sure to bid his mother farewell knowing that she would appreciate the gesture and would be less likely to murder him later. Having a couple of hours to relax before the tournament, he only had one thing on his mind: clouds.

The billowy white masses of vaporized water cascading and swirling cross a blue canvas was as disgustingly complex as the greatest symphony and as beautifully simple as falling down. The clouds could be whatever your imagination wanted them to be but they're never tied down.

"I knew I'd find you here," said an undesired interrupter.

Recognizing the voice, he didn't even look towards the person.

"What is it that you'd like me to do, now, Sensei"

Asuma drew the cigarette away from his mouth before he spoke.

"I was just checking to see if you were actually going to show up to the tournament."

Shikamaru turned to look at him now.

"Well," he said. "I told my father I would."

He shrugged before turning back to his beloved.

A not-so-awkward silence fell between them. Asuma was trying to figure out what to say to the boy and Shikamaru was glad he wasn't really pressing the issue. Asuma elected to leave the cigarette in his mouth this time and exhaled through his nose.

"You're a good shinobi, Shikamaru," he told him. "It's just too bad you don't seem that motivated."

Shikamaru stared at the clouds for a few moments longer before sitting up to look at Asuma.

"Right now," he told him. "My only motivation is to _not _get bitched at."

Asuma couldn't help the small laugh that escaped. He turned to leave but paused.

"Someday," he said. "You'll find something that will motivate you." He noticed the dour look on Shikamaru's face. "And you'll be happy. But until that day…"

Asuma left the last part open-ended as he leapt across the rooftops. Shikamaru knew what he implied but didn't think that he could ever be happy with something that was the antithesis of himself. Willfully undermining one's own way of life is a concept that falls under the category of 'most troublesome'.

Determining that if he left for the stadium now, he could walk and make it there on time and he wasn't about to put out effort on that account. Standing to his feet, he gave a stretch and a yawn that would rival a bear coming out of hibernation before taking the time to slide his hands into his pockets.

* * *

The walk towards the stadium grew progressively louder as crowds of people were gathered discussing the upcoming fights. One name in particular escaped the lips of everyone: Uchiha Sasuke. While he held no particular liking for the guy, Shikamaru had to admit that the guy was good and he was scheduled to fight against Sabaku no Gaara. That fact alone warranted Shikamaru's subjective if not personal interest.

With the deftness of a shinobi, he navigated the throngs and approached the gated entrance to the stadium.

"May I help you, gaki," one of the uniformed Chuunin at the gate said.

"I'm here for the exam," Shikamaru drawled with an apparent lack of enthusiasm.

The two Chuunin looked at each other with a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

"Namae wa?" one of them finally asked.

"Nara Shikamaru."

The first Chuunin looked over a list he held on a clipboard. He eyed the clipboard, then glanced over the top at Shikamaru, then back at the clipboard. With a shrug, he pulled a hand off the clipboard and used a thumb to point through the gates.

"Go through the gates, down the hallway and into the arena," he said. "They're all meeting in the center."

As he said that, the other Chuunin opened one of the gates enough for Shikamaru to slip through.

Passing through the opening, Shikamaru's eyes took a second to adjust to the apparent darkness. At the end of the tunnel leading to the arena, the bright light of the early afternoon sun shone through as a beacon illuminating the way out of the darkness. The stench of stale air and moist dirt irritated his nostrils. As he approached the end, a slight breeze alleviated the staunch smell and his eye's instinctively narrowed as he passed from the darkness into the light.

His ears were assaulted by the sound of hundreds of different conversations as people were shuffling and filing to find a seat and occupy themselves before the tournament. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed the various sections of the stadium being filled up with people. A section with banners indicating daimyo and other important individuals caught his attention. There were quite a few of them and one thought crossed his mind.

'I hope they aren't expecting much out of me.'

In the center, a collection of familiar people gathered facing one section of the stadium. As he joined them, they paid very little attention to him, barely even acknowledging his presence. He received a curt nod from Shino but that was all he expected from him. The man only spoke if it was pertinent to the situation.

Hyuuga Neji didn't even glance in his direction. The three Suna shinobi were there as well and for the most part, were ignorant of his presence or they just didn't care.

Except for the kunoichi.

She looked at him with disdain and disparagement before her lips curled in a confident smirk. Then, she turned away from him as if his likeness wasn't even worthy of her sight.

'Damn woman,' he thought and then he saw who was standing next to her. The psychotic monster who had threatened his life the day before. Not wanting to re-ignite Gaara's murderous passion from the day before, he discreetly took up residence between his fellow countrymen.

In front of them stood a man that he did not recognize. He was not the proctor of the third exam who had overseen the preliminaries. This man wore the traditional Konoha shinobi gear and a bandana, tied in the front, covering his head. A long toothpick protruded from his mouth that wiggled around as he ground his teeth impatiently. Every so often, he would pull out a pocket watch and curse the slowness of time.

"We're going to begin shortly," the man spoke through clenched teeth.

All of them turned and faced the direction of the highest seat in the stadium. The one reserved for the Hokage.

The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance. He didn't recall seeing any thunderclouds in the distance but the addition of rain only served to make the days events more troublesome.

As he sighed in aversion, the loud sound of a collision emanated from the tunnel behind them. A plume of dust and debris blew out as a blur of orange shot from the tunnel like a projectile from a canon. The orange projectile hit the ground and slid to a stop just short of Shikamaru.

The crowd gasped in wonder and quieted down from its previous uproar.

'He had to make an entrance,' Shikamaru thought as the face of the orange blur looked up at him. Seeing that his friend was going to lie there, he walked over and picked Naruto up, throwing one of Naruto's arms over his shoulder.

"How troublesome." He made no attempt to disguise the languid tone in his voice.

Naruto let out a moan as he was being helped to his feet. As if urgency had dawned upon him, he snapped to his feet and shouted.

"Minna, nigero!" he screamed launching into a hurried explanation. "The whole village's bulls…The bulls are going to chase everyone." He made a point of being overly frantic.

"Uh," Shikamaru leaned in with a questioning look on his face. "What are you talking about?"

"Seriously," Naruto pleaded. "There were entirely too many of them!"

After his little rant, Naruto looked around and saw all of the curious stares he was getting but that was the least of his worries.

"Uh," he stuttered. "Where's Sasuke?"

Shikamaru was aware of the absence of the Uchiha genius as well as someone else.

"That Dosu guy who's supposed to fight me isn't here either."

"Hey, you two," the guy with the toothpick said. "Stop moving around. Stand up straight and show your faces proudly to the crowd."

"Uh," Naruto said looking around.

The crowd that had hushed at his entrance was starting to get noisy again in anticipation of the upcoming fights. Their resonance grew louder and louder with excitement. Shikamaru could feel it in his bones.

"You guys are the main attraction of this three-ring circus," the man in front of them said.

Shikamaru looked up to the Hokage's seat and noticed someone else approaching. He was wearing robes similar to the Hokage's but fashioned in blue. He took a seat on the opposite side of the Hokage.

Shikamaru could literally feel the hatred coming from his left. He was not sure which of the three Suna shinobi were giving of the vibe but all three of them looked non-too-pleased to see him.

After a moment, the Hokage rose from his seat and stepped up to the edge of the balcony. The crowd saw his approach and quieted down out of respect for what he had to say.

"Minna-sama," he began. "Thank you for coming to Konohagakure no Sato for the Chuunin selection exam. We will begin the main matches with the eight that have passed the preliminaries. Enjoy."

'Eight,' Shikamaru thought. 'There were nine of us who passed the preliminaries and seven of us now. Who retired?'

The man in front of them turned around to face them.

"There's something I must tell you before we begin."

He reached into his vest and pulled out a sheet of paper. Unfolding it and holding it up so they could see it, he spoke.

"Look at this."

Shikamaru found his name on the bracket and noticed a difference right away.

"There was a little change in the match-ups for the tournament. Check your name to see who you're fighting."

The Dosu guy wasn't even on the bracket anymore.

'I had more matches than the others the last time I looked,' he thought.

His first match was with Temari. Had the Suna kunoichi known about this beforehand? She acted like it. This information both puzzled and alarmed him.

"Ano sa, ano sa," Naruto interrupted raising his hand.

"Nani?" the guy said returning the paper to his vest.

"Sasuke hasn't arrived yet," Naruto said. "What are we going to do?"

"If he doesn't show up before his match starts," the guy said. "He forfeits."

Naruto looked back toward the entrance in thought.

"Listen up," the guy said. "Although the setting is different, the same rules apply as in the preliminaries. There are no rules. The match ends when someone dies or gives up but if I decide the match is over, I will step in and stop the match. Don't argue with me over it."

He looked across everyone.

"Wakatta na?"

No one said anything to the contrary.

"Then," he said. "The first match is Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji. The rest of you head up to the ready room."

The Suna shinobi were the first to peal off and head to the stairs. Shino followed shortly thereafter. Shikamaru joined his fellow Konoha shinobi and threw a glance over his shoulder at the two contestants. They ascended the stairway, walked down the hall and turned onto a balcony that had been set aside just for them. He wasn't sure if Naruto would be able to handle Neji but he learned in the preliminaries not to doubt his strength of will.

By the time they reached the balcony, the two fighters were squaring off. A dust cloud swirled around them lending an air of suspense to the fight. The man signaled the start.

The fighters continued to stare at each other as if baiting the other to make the first move. As if he was given the go-ahead, Naruto launched three kunai in the blink of an eye.

Neji caught the first one, used it to deflect the second and let the trapped the blade of the third in the hilt of the first.

Naruto charged straight in throwing a haymaker that Neji easily deflected. He planted his hand on the ground and flipped away preparing to charge again. He released a fusillade of punches at Neji who dodged or guarded them all. Seeing the punches fail, he threw in a kick which missed wildly. Focusing on his anger instead of his form, Naruto looked more like an enraged drunk than a trained shinobi.

Neji took advantage of his sloppiness and hit him with a blow in the chest that sent him tumbling backward. Naruto took a minute to collect himself before getting back up. Neji readied himself once again. Naruto crossed his fingers in front of him and four shadow clones appeared, each one drawing a kunai.

Shikamaru would have probably been engrossed in the fight if he wasn't going over his own problems in his mind. He'd spent a whole month training and preparing to fight that Dosu guy and the guy isn't even in the tournament anymore. Feeling as if he wasted a month of preparation for nothing, he let out a sigh.

His attention was drawn back to the fight as two of Naruto's shadow clones were coming in from behind Neji, attacking his blind spot as he fought off the other two. Right when he thought Naruto had him, Neji deflected both attacks at the same time.

'Does he have eyes in the back of his head?' Shikamaru was sure he wasn't the only one thinking that.

Neji dispatched the other two leaving a stunned Naruto. Naruto, however, was far from giving up. With a look of determination on his face, he made a few dozen more shadow clones making sure to surround Neji.

If Neji was the least bit affected, he didn't show it.

One Naruto charged in and began exchanging blows with Neji. As that one fell, two more charged in putting Neji in a defensive posture. The more he moved around, the more the other clones got involved until he jumped out of the group creating space.

Singling one Naruto out from the rest, he charged in slaloming through a forest of orange. Striking that particular Naruto right in the chest. Naruto looked disconcerted coughing up blood. One by one his shadow clones began to dispel.

Neji held a victorious air of arrogance until the Naruto he struck dispelled as well. Turning around, he looked shocked and surprised to see two Naruto's flying through the air ready to deliver a pair of haymakers. Right when Naruto was about to connect, he smirked and began rotating in a circle. The air around him seemed to bend and move with him as he released chakra from his body parrying Naruto's attack and sending him and his clone flying backwards.

Shikamaru knew the difficulty of releasing chakra from the body. Molding it and converting it into a technique was a different story but releasing pure energy from your body to the point it makes physical contact was all but unheard of. Maybe Neji really was a genius.

Naruto got back up. If there was one thing Naruto was known for, it was stubbornness. He attacked again creating another group of shadow clones charging at Neji from all directions. Again, Neji spun around parrying all Naruto's attacks. The clones that got attacked dispelled leaving the real Naruto remaining only a couple meters from Neji.

Naruto sat up and rubbed the dirt from his face with his sleeve, staring in disbelief at Neji. As Naruto reached his feet, Neji fell into an unfamiliar stance. One Shikamaru had never seen before. Neji quickly moved in closing the distance between them and striking at various points on his body.

Shikamaru knew he was closing off his tenketsu. He could only watch in horror as the last few strikes sent his friend flying backwards through the air, spitting up blood. Naruto had hit the ground hard on top of suffering that attack.

The examiner approached and stood in between them looking in Naruto's direction. Naruto flopped around on the ground struggling to find the strength to stand. Neji lorded over him a few meters away.

Shikamaru was sure the fight was over. Naruto was about to give up, or so he thought.

Naruto somehow found the strength to stand rising slowly to his feet, panting heavily and hunched over like an arthritic old man. Stand off with Neji, they mumbled a few things between them and Neji removed his hitai-ite and looked at it solemnly. Naruto must have said something to antagonize Neji because he slipped his hitai-ite back on and charged Naruto, striking his chest with a deadly blow.

Naruto was sent tumbling backwards. Neji turned to walk away secure in his victory when Naruto got back up again. Clutching his chest where he'd taken the vicious blow, Naruto mumbled under labored breath. Something he said obviously hit a sore spot with Neji who began shouting profusely pointing an accusatory finger in his direction.

Naruto widened his stance as if preparing to fight, even though he looked defeated. Neji turned to the examiner to tell him something. The look of defeat left Naruto's face as an idea dawned on him. Closing his eyes, he began trying to mold chakra even though all of his tenketsu were closed. He strained harder and harder as if trying to force them back open. Yelling louder and louder the harder he strained. Soon his clothing started to dance as if he were amidst a strong breeze. The pebbles and debris on the ground around him began to swirl into the air. He was forcing out some powerful chakra.

The chakra was powerful and felt almost evil in nature. Shikamaru had never felt chakra like this from Naruto before and it was permeating throughout the stadium. Maybe that's what he meant when he said he had a monster inside him.

By now, the swirling air around Naruto had engulfed the arena. Leaves and twigs had joined the debris in a fantastic show of force. Neji had to guard his face to keep it from getting hit. The swirling air began to focus around Naruto until it died down into an eerie calm.

Naruto took off.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto disappeared moving faster than the eye could follow. Neji scanned the arena looking for him when he reappeared mid-air and launched a trio of shuriken at him. Neji began his rotation parrying the attack, grabbing a couple of Naruto's shuriken from the air as he stopped. Pulling out a few of his own, he sent a barrage back in Naruto's direction as he floated through the air.

Once again, Naruto quickly moved out of the way disappearing from sight only to reappear beside Neji. Neji was able to dodge his fist and draw a kunai as he retreated. Naruto drew his own and they both launched at the same time colliding in mid-air.

The two shinobi quickly recovered and caught the descending kunai, while flying towards each other in attack. The clash of kunai sounded as they deflected each other's blows landing opposite each other again. Naruto charged straight in at a fast pace digging up earth as he powered forward. Neji began his rotation again as Naruto came in to strike.

An explosion.

Astonished, Shikamaru couldn't see a thing. The collision of two energies exploded into a dust cloud and it engulfed the combatants as well as the examiner. As the dust settled, two impact craters could be seen where, presumably, the combatants had ended up after their collision.

Movement was seen from one of the craters. Shikamaru's eyes widened and he held his breath in anticipation to see who had survived. An arm reached out and planted on solid ground pulling its owner from the depths of the crater.

Hyuuga Neji looked much worse for wear as he expelled dust from his lungs. Able to get to his feet, he stumbled over towards the other crater. Stopping a couple meters shy of the opening, Neji was aware of Naruto's ability to come back by now. Getting too close might result in more unwanted fighting.

As he murmured something to what looked like the unconscious body of Naruto, Neji missed the fist that exploded from beneath the ground. He looked down just in time to catch Naruto's fist on the chin. As Naruto came flying out of a hole in the ground, he sent Neji flying through the air and landing hard on the ground. Naruto landed on his feet, covered in dirt and breathing hard but never taking his eyes off of his opponent.

The shadow clone that was lying in the hole dispelled revealing which one was the real Naruto. After Neji hadn't moved for a minute, Naruto walked over to where he lay on the ground. He seemed to have something to say to him.

The examiner raised his hand and signaled the winner.

"Shourisha, Uzumaki Naruto."

The crowd erupted in cheer. Naruto, who'd finally caught his breath, noticed that they were cheering for him. An awed look crept onto his face before it changed into a devious smile. He brought his index finger up to his nose as if it itched. Breaking out into a full sprint, Naruto began cheering himself, blowing kisses to the crowd. He was basking in the glow of victory.

Shikamaru was surprised. His idiot of a friend beat last year's top rookie and it was only making him feel even more depressed about his upcoming fight. He groaned.

"He won. Are you serious?" Shikamaru complained. "He was supposed to be in the 'Not-so-Cool' group like me."

"What is this 'Not-so-Cool' group you speak of?" Shino wondered idly beside him.

Shikamaru ignored the question.

"He's getting all those cheers, and now he's part of the 'cool' group." The idea sounded so foreign to him. "Actually, I don't think I could even beat him."

The more he watched Naruto celebrate, his situation seemed obviously grim.

"I'm in deep shit," he said lowering his head. "Now I'm depressed."

Shino placed a comforting hand on his back but Shikamaru didn't even turn to face him. He just tightened his grip on the rail in front of him. Why did he even try in the first place? These people were way out of his league, exceptional even.

The medical squad retrieved Neji and carried him off. As the cheers died down, so did Naruto's enthusiasm and he made his way up the stairs to the ready room. Shikamaru greeted his friend with a smile.

"I had no idea you were that 'kick ass'," He told him. "I would have never guessed you were that strong."

Naruto had his fingers interlocked behind his head and a cheesy, fox-like grin plastered on his face.

* * *

The minutes ticked by and the rumble of the crowd was growing each second in anticipation of the next match. Shikamaru could feel the tension in the air and he was pretty sure he was adding to it himself. Of all the fighters in the tournament, this was the match-up he'd pay to see. A battle of elites.

More time went by and the crowd had grown impatient. The tension was palpable with an air of frustration. Shikamaru had not seen Sasuke show up yet and was getting a little frustrated himself. If Sasuke didn't show, he feared the crowd would quickly turn into a mob. Shikamaru leaned forward onto the rail as if the change in distance afforded him a better perspective.

"What's he doing?" he asked no one in particular. "Is he planning on not showing up?"

"A wise man keeps away from danger," Shino offered referring to Sasuke's psychotic opponent. "He made a wise decision."

Shikamaru couldn't help a glance in Gaara's direction. The Suna shinobi had pretty much kept to themselves, whispering quietly in low voices. Their actions were a little suspicious.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto sounded agitated. "He's going to come, definitely."

Naruto lowered his head down to rest on the backs of his hands. He cast a sideways glance in the direction of the Suna shinobi. Shikamaru followed his glance and found Gaara staring back at Naruto. When he looked back at Naruto, Naruto just turned to face the arena as if lost in thought.

Another shinobi appeared in the arena and gave some instructions to the examiner. The examiner quieted the crowd down then spoke.

"Minna-sama," he said. "One of the fighters in the next match had not arrived yet, therefore, his match will be delayed and we will move on to the next match."

This was more bad news for Shikamaru. First his opponent has changed and now his match is getting moved up. Now he's going to have to fight earlier. The more this day went on, the more troublesome it got.

"Oi," he exclaimed. "Does this mean my match is coming up faster?"

"The next match," the examiner shouted up to the ready room. "Kankurou and Aburame Shino."

At hearing his name, Shino reached forward and grabbed the rail. He seemed prepared despite the sudden changes.

"Examiner," Kankurou shouted. "I'm giving up."

"Huh?" all heads swiveled in his direction.

"I'm giving up," he said. "Go on to the next match."

The crowd heard this and went into an uproar. They had no time for these shenanigans.

"Kankurou has given up," the examiner said. "Therefore, Aburame Shino wins by default."

'What the hell are these people thinking?' Shikamaru asked himself.

A large gust of wind blew out of the ready room and the Suna kunoichi leapt out onto her fan and glided down to the arena below.

Had Shikamaru been fully aware, he would have recognized who it was. Had he been fully aware, he would have know it was his turn to fight. Had he been fully aware, he would probably have not even been in the building but his mind was overwhelmed by the fact that the day just took a swan dive from the top of the troublesome tree and hit every branch on the way down.

He heard but did not fully comprehend the examiner.

"Oi, the other one," the examiner beckoned. "Get down here."

Everything was going downhill and fast.

"Oi, oi, why are you guys getting so excited?" Shikamaru questioned. "Why am I the only one who gets his match-up changed so frequently?"

"Nara Shikamaru," the examiner called. "It's you."

'Kuso,' Shikamaru swore to himself. 'I should just follow the other guy and give up.'

"Yoshi, Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted slapping his back hard enough for him to lose his balance and lean out over the rail. "Ganbatte, dattebayo!" Naruto finished with a shove in his back that sent him over the rail plummeting towards the ground.

Shikamaru was able to roll over so that he landed on his back looking back up to the balcony.

'Naruto no yarou!'

From this grounded perspective, he was able to focus his thoughts better. Displeased with the situation, the crowd was whipping itself into a frenzy finding any loose object they could turn into a projectile, most of which were aimed at him. It seemed as though the crowd was excited to see Sasuke's match but instead have had to watch his. For this reason, they were extremely displeased. He could find no point in holding this match when no one expected anything from it.

The sound of an unnecessarily large metal fan striking the earth interrupted his thoughts.

"Nani?" Temari called. "Are you going to give up as well?"

Shikamaru leaned his head back and looked at her upside-down form.

'Another woman?' A completely different thought process had entered his brain and it conflicted with the previous one.

"Kore, Shikamaru!" Naruto's annoying voice called down from the balcony. "Stop fooling around!"

Shikamaru was in no mood to discuss the current events with Naruto, seeing as he was involved with them.

"If you're not going to attack, then I will," Temari said charging in full sprint.

"Oi, the match hasn't started yet," the examiner warned.

Temari ignored him and kept charging.

Shikamaru sighed.

"She seems too excited about this," he told himself reaching into his pouch and pulling out two kunai.

Leaping into the air, she let the full force of her fan come crashing down. As she descended, he quickly stabbed the kunai into the wall and leapt onto them. Her fan came down heavy, stirring up a cloud of smoke and as it dissipated, she was surprised to see that he wasn't at the end of her fan. She looked up and saw him standing against the wall.

"I really don't care if I can't become a Chuunin," he told her. "But a man can't lose to a woman."

His face never betrayed the lethargy in his voice and that only seemed to piss her off.

"I guess I'll fight," he said making it sound as inconvenient as household chores.

Her eyes opened wide and her fan did too. She let out a yell to accentuate her fury as she swung the oversized wind machine.

Taking advantage of her anger, he used this opportunity to slip away under the cover of dust and debris kicked up by the torrent of wind. He swiftly relocated himself to the opposite end of the arena where he took shelter amongst the trees beneath the shadow of the wall. This gave him more options and provided some protection against her powerful wind attacks; however, it didn't take long for her to locate him.

'I say that but a man can't really hit a woman,' he thought. 'I don't want to get hit either.'

She took up a position with her fan in front of her body. Her narrowed eyes peering over the top at him, calculating her next move.

'Why am I the only one who has to fight a woman? Kuso!'

He could have sworn he heard Ino's high pitched voice shouting from the stadium but now was neither the time nor place. Almost instinctively, his eyes found the clouds. One good thing about this day was that there were plenty of clouds in the sky. He just wished he was somewhere else. He couldn't think of a good reason to even be here. The only reason he became a ninja was because he thought it would be fun.

His eyes fell from the sky and he made a quick survey of the landscape. Not much had changed except for the hole that Naruto dug to beat Neji. He made a mental note. It might come in handy later.

"Damn it, get moving, Shikamaru!" Naruto's annoying voice sounded from across the way.

'Well,' he thought as he stood up. 'Things never go that easy.'

The irony didn't escape him and it showed on his face. This only managed to piss her off again.

_Ninpou Kamaitachi_

The gust of wind she sent this time had a lot more chakra in it. Cutting into and removing limbs from the trees, it did some damage but it was too broad of an attack and only served as a minor inconvenience for him. It stirred up another dust cloud which he used as cover to send his shadow towards her. He dropped to one knee and wrapped his right hand around the first two fingers of his left.

She managed to see his shadow in time to retreat backwards, somersaulting until his shadow was stretched to the limit. She dragged her fan across the ground to make a line. One she knew his shadow wouldn't cross.

"Naruhodo," she said. "_Kage Mane no Jutsu_. I understand it now. You're limited as to how much you can stretch, shrink and transform your shadow. No matter how much you stretch it, you can only stretch it as much as its surface area. Sou da no?"

"Correct," he said. Converting stamina into chakra was exhausting.

Leaning back against the stadium wall, he cast his eyes skyward. Another troublesome mess he'd got himself into and she wasn't going to make it easy for him. She was watching his movements carefully, trying to find an opening in his strategy and she was a long range fighter. He need to extend his range or get closer to her to capture her with his shadow but he was pretty sure getting closer was a bad idea. The clouds were drifting out of the southwest at four to six knots. He made a mental note of it.

His head lowered and his eyes closed. Almost instinctively, his finger tips came together in front of him. His mind began running through all the ways to extend his shadow's range. He knew she would be careful keeping tabs on his shadow. He needed a way to confuse her. Layering attacks and setting up traps was the best way to accomplish it. Running through the information he had, the weapons he held at his disposal, the battle ground, the natural elements, all of which could be used to his advantage. Things fell into place in his mind and his strategy was formed.

As his eyes re-opened, he went through his pouch and reached for a kunai.

"It seems you're a little more motivated to fight now," Temari said opening her fan to its full width.

Letting out a yell, she sent another gust of wind in his direction. This attack was more powerful than the previous. Guarding his face with one arm, he pulled the kunai out of his pouch but the wind was proving more troublesome than he anticipated. Scooting over behind a tree, he removed his jacket in preparation for his offensive but the convex shape of the stadium walls was aiding his opponent's technique.

He was able to remove his jacket but the wind attack continued to swirl around him. Knowing that he just had to be patient, he waited for the wind to die down. He struggled to catch his breath but made a note of where his opponent was positioned.

"How much longer are you going to run?" she yelled.

Hearing the frustration in her voice, he knew this would bode well for him. Removing his hitai-ite form the arm of his jacket, he fashioned a parachute by tying the corners of his jacket together and tying a kunai to it with his hitai-ite for weight.

"Come out already!" She sent another gust of wind in his direction.

Using the dust cloud as cover, he made his first move, launching his parachute into the air and sending a kunai through the dust at her. Not knowing if his aim was true, he advanced to his next move, repositioning and firing another kunai in her direction. Hearing the clash of metal, he knew that his sense of her position was accurate. Moving to a third location, he launched his shadow from within the cloud.

As the dust settled, he watched her following his shadow with her eyes. He watched her face panic when she realized that it wasn't going to stop behind the line. While she leapt backwards just in time, his shadow crossed the mark with a meter to spare. When she realized his shadow wasn't going any farther, she gave him an angry look.

"Good eye," he told her.

"So you were killing time waiting for the sun to set, increasing your range" she said. "When the sun sets, the shadows grow, right?"

He just smirked.

Studying his shadow on the ground, he assumed she was trying to calculate how fast his range will grow and a way to connect with her next attack. She looked up at him but his facial expression never changed.

"Temari!" Kankurou shouted from the balcony. "Ue da!"

She looked up to see his parachute rig floating in the air but he kept his eyes glued to the shadow that was growing at the end of his. Looking down in time to see the two shadows connect, she dodged backwards. Making sure to attack her right side, he forced her to move back and to the left. She skillfully retreated making sure to stay away from his shadow. Sliding to a stop as the parachute hit the ground, she knew his extended range had ended.

"So you dodged this trick, too," he told her allowing her to build confidence.

She eyed him giving a triumphant smirk. Planting her fan in the ground in front of her, she used it to conceal her movements. She wanted to find a way to end this match. He kept his shadow at its maximum length until she peered over the fan. Letting her see his shadow retreat, he lulled her into a false sense of security. When she ducked back behind the fan, it was time to put her into check.

Sending his shadow into the hole Naruto dug, he couldn't see her but he felt a familiar tug when their shadows connected. He had her. As his hands separated forcing hers to do the same, an indolent smirk tugged the left corner of his mouth. The stadium was dead silent.

"Youyaku," he said. "Kage Mane no Jutsu seikou."

She stared at him around her fan in disbelief. His smirk grew a little bigger.

"I'll show you what's behind you," he told her turning his head forcing her to do the same. "You see it now. That hole is the one Naruto dug and came out of."

Turning his head so that they were once again looking at each other, he continued.

"That's why it's connected to the one in front of you."

"Did you use the shadow inside the tunnel to…"

"Correct," he interrupted.

It seemed as if she was trying to process everything that just happened. She stared at him in astonishment. Contemplating his next move, he ran through all of the options he had. Some were more violent than others and required more effort, while others would have been less effective and somewhat risky. While narrowing his options down, he took a moment to look at her and he saw something unexpected.

Disgrace.

Here she was being defeated by some no-name in front of a crowd of people. One of whom was the leader of her village, the Kazekage himself whom he didn't know was also her father. He could feel her struggling against his shadow, trying as hard as she could to regain control of her body. The degradation of one woman seemed like a small personal victory but it was one he could live with.

Exhaustion was starting to set in. All of the chakra he'd used to prove his little point had fatigued him to the point where he no longer cared. Having proven his point, he made up his mind as to his final move. He walked towards the middle of the arena, compelling her to meet him halfway. The crowd remained silent on the edge of their seats in a voyeuristic haze, willing him to make the final blow.

Raising his right hand, he closed his eyes. The more she struggled against him the more energy he had to use to keep her there. As the seconds ticked away, he could hear her grunting as she strained against his hold. He opened his eyes one last time to look at her.

"Maketa," he said. "I give up."

Her eyes shot open in surprise and her struggle against him stopped. She just stared at him in utter disbelief. In an ironic sort of way, this was his second, small personal victory of the day but he never showed it.

"Nani?!?" The once quiet crowd, it seemed, had found its voice again and its displeasure with him was once again the topic of conversation.

"What did you say?" Temari had found her voice as well.

He frowned. He hated having to explain things to a woman.

"I used up too much chakra with my shadow mimic technique," he told her. "I can only hold you for about ten more seconds. It doesn't matter that I've thought of two hundred possible moves but time is up."

He let his hand fall to his side allowing her to do the same. Surprise and disbelief were plastered on her face. At least, he thought it was an acceptable explanation. He closed his eyes and shrugged.

"It'd be too troublesome to do any more," he said. "One match is good enough for me."

If she didn't understand that, then what could she understand?

"Shourisha, Temari," the examiner declared the winner.

His shadow detached from her and crept back to him. She almost lost her balance as control of her body was returned to her. Feeling soreness in his shoulders from concentrating too hard, he reached up and massaged his neck.

"I'm tired," he mumbled to no one in particular.

Temari was speechless. As if searching for something to say but finding nothing, she just stood there dumfounded.

* * *

The more he massaged his neck, the more other muscles began to feel sore. He hadn't planned on working this hard but apparently the day was over for him or at least the troublesome part. Eventually, Temari just turned and walked away, grabbing her fan before heading back up to the ready room. Shikamaru began stretching his back when he heard someone come running up to his side.

"Kono baka!" Naruto shouted.

"Urusai, chou baka,"(1) Shikamaru retorted without bothering to stop stretching.

"Why the hell did you give up?!" Naruto chided.

"Mou ii darou.(2) It's a matter of the past now."

"No, it's not! You almost won that match, but you gave up…"

"Forget about that," Shikamaru said over the screaming idiot. "Let's get ready for the next match."

"Totally unacceptable!" Naruto finished and then blinked in confusion. "Tsugi te?"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and smirked again, knowing he had successfully rerouted the boy's hyperactive brain. He watched as a grim smile carved across Naruto's face.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto began looking around anxiously finding it very hard to sit still. Shikamaru had stretched out the last of his muscles. While it didn't fix the problem, it managed to alleviate some of the soreness and that was good enough for him. As the time went by, he wondered if they were just going to move on if Sasuke didn't show.

A man leapt down from the Hokage's balcony and whispered into the examiner's ear. Shortly thereafter, the examiner pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. It seemed they were giving him a certain amount of time to arrive. Why did Sasuke get special treatment?

"Damn it!" Naruto couldn't take it anymore. "What is that idiot doing? He hasn't arrived yet."

"If he doesn't show, he doesn't show," Shikamaru told him flatly.

"He'll definitely come!"

Naruto looked around the stadium again as if hoping Sasuke would appear out of nowhere. Scratching his head as if straining his brain to its limit, he tried to conjure a reason for Sasuke's absence. Shikamaru could think of a whole mess of reasons why he would want to be here, either.

"What the hell is that Sasuke doing?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

Shikamaru watched the examiner closely. It's his call whether or not Sasuke gets disqualified. The examiner pulled his pocket watch out again and studied it intently. When he didn't return the watch to his pocket immediately, Shikamaru assumed that the time was getting close.

"Sasuke…" Naruto began pacing. "Hurry up and come already! You'll get in trouble if you don't!" He was obviously worried about Sasuke.

The examiner looked up from his watch as to make sure there were no new arrivals. Sliding the watch back into his pocket, he began to make an announcement.

"Uh, about the last match," he started. "Time is up so…"

A strange air current interrupted him. Shikamaru could tell there was a lot of chakra in the air and someone was making a distraction. All of a sudden, the air increased in velocity causing Naruto and Shikamaru to cover their eyes. When the dust settled, Sasuke was standing back to back with Kakashi.

"Yaa, sorry we're late," Kakashi said.

Shikamaru was astonished. Naruto had a huge grin on his face.

"Namae?" the examiner said.

Sasuke turned to look at him.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke stood there proudly as if he'd done the whole thing on purpose.

'That son of bitch,' Shikamaru thought. 'He caused a lot of trouble for us and he doesn't even seem sorry at all.'

"Ha," Naruto chimed in. "You're awfully late. I thought you weren't going to show because you were afraid to fight me."

'You were the one who said he's definitely going to come,' Shikamaru thought.

"You won the first round?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course," Naruto said with confidence.

Sasuke laughed.

"Don't get too excited over it, moron."

The two of them just stared at each other. The excitement level was rising.

"Ma nan da…" Kakashi began scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "It's kind of hard to ask after we entered the stage with such a flashy performance but did Sasuke get… disqualified?"

Everyone turned to see the examiner's response, curious as to what he'd say. The examiner looked down at the ground.

"He must have caught your habit of being late," the examiner said.

"So he's…" Kakashi was preparing for the worst.

"Daijoubu desu yo," the examiner said. "His match was put on hold and he arrived just before we were going to disqualify him."

Kakashi gave an uncomfortable laugh.

"I'm glad to hear that."

He looked down at Sasuke but Sasuke had his eyes set somewhere else. Everyone turned to see what Sasuke was looking at.

It was his opponent, Gaara, who was staring intently in their direction.

"You better not lose to that guy," Naruto said.

Sasuke acknowledged.

"Sasuke!" Naruto demanded his attention. "I want to fight you, too."

Sasuke just acknowledged him again.

The crowd was getting into it again. The fight they'd been anticipating was about to start and they couldn't control the anxiety. Shikamaru listened as people cheered and shouted for a fight that hasn't even begun yet.

'They've already forgotten about me,' Shikamaru thought but then shrugged his shoulders. 'I guess it can't be helped. Even I wanted to see this match.'

"Gaara," the examiner called to the ready room. "Come down here."

Shikamaru took it as his queue to leave.

"Naruto," he called as he walked away. "Ue iku ze"

"Ah," Naruto muttered as if he were pulled out of a daze.

"At least let me use the stairs this time," Shikamaru chided.

"Nan dattebayo?" Naruto grumbled behind him. "Are you still angry that I pushed you down?"

Shikamaru reached the stairs and shortly thereafter, Naruto had passed him up. Where did the little fucker get all that energy?

"Aa ei," Naruto whined. "Hurry up!"

Shikamaru hurried for no one.

"In life," he told him. "Nothing good comes from hurrying."

Naruto, who had stopped to berate him, was now staring at something from the top of the stairs.

"Doushita?" Shikamaru asked joining Naruto to see what he was looking at.

Gaara was walking down the hall from the ready room and two people seemed to be waiting for him in the hallway. The two men approached Gaara and attempted to talk him into forfeiting the match but Shikamaru knew that would never happen. As they attempted to elicit their desired response from him, one of them drew a kunai.

The gourd on Gaara's back responded immediately. The cork popped out and sand went flying everywhere. The two men couldn't help but to guard themselves as the light fixtures began exploding down the hallway. The sand swirled around Gaara until it reached out and grabbed the first man, dragging him towards Gaara and slowly enveloping him with sand. The man tried to scream but it was muffled by the sand. When the sand finally covered his entire body, it compressed with the sounds of crunching bones and tearing flesh.

The other man tried to make a break for it, sprinting down the hallway in Shikamaru's direction but the sand was too fast, catching him by the leg and forcing him to stumble. The man fell to the ground less than a meter from the railing in front of them. The sand slowly began dragging him back down the hallway.

As he cried out for help, Shikamaru noticed that the man had a Kusagakure symbol on his hitai-ite.

"Yamero!" the man cried. "Yamero!"

As his last painful scream was heard, he disappeared into the darkness that now enveloped the hallway.

Shikamaru could only stare. He had never seen someone murdered in cold blood like that before. His body was frozen stiff not out of fear but from a sudden realization about the decay of the human psyche. If one was capable of dispatching another human being in such a cruel and grotesque way, then one was not right in the head.

The soft patter of footsteps broke the dead silence but did not break either of the two Konoha shinobi's concentration. He began recalling the conversation they had with Gaara the night before. Things were beginning to make sense. Last night, Shikamaru thought most of it was bullshit but now, he knew that the guy wasn't just screwing around.

Lost in thought, he barely even noticed as Gaara walked right between them and continued on down the stairs, not even paying attention to the two guys standing there. After a moment, Shikamaru had to sit down contemplating their encounters with the Suna shinobi.

"If those two weren't there," he thought out loud. "He probably would have killed us."

He leaned forward to rest on his knees.

"I've never seen someone kill people like that," he pondered. "Without any hesitation."

He used his forearm to wipe away the sweat that had accumulated on his brow. Turning to Naruto, he saw that Naruto had taken a seat as well.

"Sasuke will have his hands full with this guy."

Naruto still did not move. His hyperactive mind had shut down and all the thoughts seemed to be focusing on this thing inspiring a loss of motor skills. Shikamaru went back to his own thoughts and the end of their encounter with Gaara the night before.

"Aa," he mumbled and it seemed to get Naruto's attention. "Do you remember what he said yesterday?"

Naruto thought about it and seemed to realize what Shikamaru was getting at.

"Last night, he said he was going to kill us all. Remember?"

Shikamaru did not even look to see if Naruto was listening anymore. It was entirely for his own benefit.

"But he didn't," he questioned. "And he had a very good opportunity, too."

He sat up and looked off into space somewhere.

"We didn't even get his attention."

"We aren't good enough for him right now," Naruto chimed in, punching his fist to accentuate the point.

"The only guy worthy enough to him is…"

"Sasuke!" Naruto finished.

Naruto began to panic, nervously shaking, struggling to keep his composure. In the silence of the stairwell, the two of them sat contemplating how close they came to losing their lives and what kind of monster Gaara was. Shikamaru took a second to look in Naruto's direction when Naruto stood up quickly surprising him.

"Shikamaru," he said. "We have to find Kakashi-sensei."

"What are you going to do?" Shikamaru asked startled by the suddenness.

Naruto turned and ran up the last few steps sprinting in the opposite direction of the ready room.

"Oi," Shikamaru called out watching him leave with purpose.

Naruto's mumbled reply was left unheard by Shikamaru. However, it was better if they stuck together so Shikamaru went after him. When Naruto came to another corridor, he looked around frantically.

"Do you know where you're going?" Shikamaru asked as he caught up with him.

"I have to find Kakashi-sensei," was Naruto's reply. To him, that was the only thing that made sense.

"He's probably watching the match in the stadium," Shikamaru said pointing to a sign which gave directions.

Naruto did not hesitate and took off running again.

"Oi!"

As they rounded a corner, they came into an open area designated for public seating. Naruto must have spotted his target immediately because he shouted his name.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto came to a skidding stop at the top of the aisle that Kakashi was standing in. Gai and Gejimayu were standing in front of him. Shikamaru arrived shortly after and was so out of breath that he had to drop to a knee as he tried to recover.

"Uh?" Kakashi turned around and looked at them. "What is it?"

"Sensei," Naruto pleaded. "Please stop the match, right now!"

The questioning posture from Kakashi showed he did not fully understand what Naruto was asking.

"He's completely different from us," Naruto continued. "He's not normal!"

"Naruto!" Ino spoke up. "What are you talking about?"

Shikamaru finally noticed Ino was sitting there, along with Sakura and Chouji.

"He lives to kill people." Desperation saturated Naruto's voice. "Besides that, if this fight continues, Sasuke is going to die! Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto pleaded but all he got were terse looks of disbelief from those around. Kakashi turned to watch the match.

"Maa," he said. "Shinpai suru na. There's a reason we were late."

For the first time since arriving there, Shikamaru looked down into the arena. The only person he saw in the arena was Sasuke. There was a ball of sand on one side which Sasuke was facing and he could only assume it was Gaara's doing. Sasuke charged towards the ball of sand, launching kunai which only deflected off. Leaping into the air, Sasuke charged in from another angle with taijutsu. Spikes shot out from the sand attacking Sasuke. This pattern repeated a couple more times.

"Sensei," Sakura said. "What did you mean by 'there's a reason you were late'?"

"Hmm," Kakashi pondered. "Would you like to know?"

"We don't have time for that!" Naruto began throwing a tantrum.

"Shut up and watch," Kakashi told him sternly, catching everyone's attention. "Bikkuri suru kara."

Sasuke retreated backwards skidding to a stop two-thirds of the way up the stadium wall. Running through a few hand seals, Sasuke clutched his wrist in preparation for his technique. What appeared to be lightning began emanating from Sasuke's hand. Slowly growing in intensity, stray bolts began arching wildly searching for a ground. When the lightning reached a point at which it appeared to envelope Sasuke's whole hand, Sasuke began his move.

Swinging his hand to his side, he launched himself down the wall towards the ground. The lightning chakra surrounding his hand was giving off a high pitched chirping sound. When he reached the bottom, it seemed to cause a small explosion and Sasuke came flying out of the dust cloud.

"Body activation," Gai spoke up. "You had him master taijutsu to dramatically increase his speed."

"What is that?" Naruto asked watching Sasuke pick up speed across the arena.

"It's making a lot of noise," Sakura added. "What kind of move is it?"

"Just a straight thrust," Gai explained. "But it's Konoha's number one technique specialist, the Copy Ninja Kakashi's, only original move. It's a secret move for assassinations. The key to it is generating speed, activating the body to generate a large amount of chakra and focusing the chakra in the hand. It emit's a distinct chirping sound similar to a thousand birds. Hence, the name…Chidori."

Sasuke dodged a few sand spikes and thrust his arm into the sand, penetrating up to his elbow. Sand splayed from the impact falling indiscriminately to the ground.

"Chidori, a.k.a. Raikiri," Gai said.

"Raikiri?" Sakura asked.

"It's said that Kakashi once used it to cut a lightning bolt in half," Gai explained. "But its real name is Chidori. It turns the arm into a sword that can pierce anything."

Gai turned to address Kakashi.

"But you've taught him a reckless technique."

"I don't want to hear that from you," Kakashi retorted. "Na, Lee-kun?"

"I don't really understand it," Sakura said. "But it's amazing!"

Naruto was getting frustrated, clenching his fists and grinding his teeth. The guy that was worried about Sasuke a minute ago, is now jealous of him. If Naruto could change colors, he'd be a deep shade of green by now.

What sounded like a muffled scream came from the ball of sand. Sasuke seemed to be struggling to remove his arm but nothing was happening. Reactivating his lighting chakra, he pulled hard to release his arm. As he pulled it out, a strange appendage seemed to be holding onto him but it relinquished his arm allowing Sasuke to retreat. The arm stretched a few meters before sucking back into the opening.

Shikamaru could feel the evil chakra from where he sat in stadium. He was pretty sure every other shinobi there could as well. The Chidori might not be enough to defeat Gaara.

The ball of sand began to crack, breaking from its rigid structure and sifting to the ground revealing Gaara clutching his wounded shoulder. Shikamaru watched as the two fighters stared down each other until he started seeing feathers floating down from the sky in his peripheral vision. Curious about the strange phenomenon, he started feeling drowsier than usual. Letting out a deep yawn, he just wanted to lie down and take a nap.

'This can't be right,' he thought lazily as he began to lie down. 'This has to be…"

He pulled his hands up in front of him forming a hand seal. Muttering the release, he found himself feeling instantly revived and the feathers were no longer falling around him but something else was not right. If someone was casting that kind of wide range genjutsu, then something was about to go down that they didn't want too many people involved in. He opted to play along, knowing that if they expected him to be asleep they would leave him alone.

Soon enough, an explosion could be heard, followed by the sounds of battle. The clash of kunai, the dampened thud of flesh striking flesh and the not so dampened thud of flesh on wood or concrete rang in his ears. He immediately knew this was a fight he didn't want to be in. The scraping sound of sandals wiping dust across concrete flooring was followed by the subtle whoosh as someone leapt into the air.

"Sakura!" Kakashi's voice was heard. "I'm glad I taught you about genjutsu during our survival training. You have talent in that area."

He wasn't quite sure where Kakashi was but he was nearby.

"Dispel the genjutsu and wake up Naruto and Shikamaru," Kakashi said.

Shikamaru cringed at the sound of his name. Being mentioned was grounds for his involvement and that was exactly what he was trying to avoid.

"Naruto will be happy," Kakashi continued. "It will be his first mission in a while. Proceed with caution. This will be an A-rank mission."

The sounds of more kunai clashing.

"Sensei," Sakura called out. "What do you mean A-rank? What are we supposed to do?"

"Sasuke went after Suna no Gaara and the others," Kakashi said. "Sakura, dispel the genjutsu from Naruto and Shikamaru and go after Sasuke."

"But if that's the case, shouldn't I wake up Ino and Chouji and go in a bigger group?" Sakura asked.

'How about taking them instead?' Shikamaru thought.

"There are already many Oto and Suna shinobi inside the village," Kakashi explained. "Any more than four people will slow you down and make it harder to conceal yourselves. You learned about patrol exercises in the academy, right?"

"Aa, sou ka," Sakura replied. "Since there's going to be four, you're coming with us, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Iie," Kakashi said. "I can't leave this place. _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_."

Shikamaru heard the poof and knew he had summoned something. If he got up now and tried to protest, it would only serve to convince them he needed to go anyway. Damn the luck.

"Pakkun here will track down Sasuke through his scent."

"Is our fourth member, that doggy?" Sakura asked.

"Hey little girl," a new voice spoke. "Don't call me a cute doggy."

"Yoshi, Sakura," Kakashi ordered. "Dispel the genjutsu from Naruto and Shikamaru."

He could hear the sounds of someone crawling up the steps behind him and he tried not to move. A high pitched whine told him that what Kakashi had summoned was indeed a dog. The sound of movement near him told him that they were already there.

"_Are?_" Naruto grumbled sleepily. "Doushita no, Sakura-chan?"

"Get down!" Sakura whispered.

He heard the whoosh of a kunai followed by a clank and a rattle as it fell near his feet.

"Just stay down," Sakura told him. "I'll explain later."

He could feel her moving closer to him and began to grow nervous. This was definitely going to be troublesome and he did not want to be in this situation. Of all the times and all the places it had to be here and now. His brow began to twitch involuntarily from the stress.

"Shikamaru," Sakura sounded angry. "You've been awake."

He tried to play it off. She was just imagining things. That's right. The whine of the dog was heard again and then searing pain shot through his calf.

"Itai!" Shikamaru screamed flailing his leg in an attempt to force the little pug to let go.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura yelled pointing an accusatory finger. "You can dispel genjutsu, too!"

The dog had still not relinquished its hold on his calf.

"Why were you pretending to be asleep this whole time?"

He reached down and grabbed the dog by the scruff of the neck and pried his jaws from his leg. Holding the dog up, he began playing with its face in retribution for his leg.

"I don't want to be involved in this," he told Sakura. "I'm not doing this."

He pinched the dog's cheek and stretched the skin as he pulled it away.

"I don't care about Sasuke."

The dog's cheek snapped back and it growled before sinking its teeth into his hand.

"Itai!" Shikamaru instinctively flailed his arm into the air at which point two kunai collided nearby.

The fighting had continued on despite their little conference.

"What's going on?"Naruto asked. Apparently, he had fallen victim to the genjutsu and missed out on the whole thing.

An Oto shinobi must have noticed because he came up from behind Naruto in attack.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed. "Ushiro!"

In a flash of green, the Oto shinobi was shoved into the wall.

"H-hayai," the Oto shinobi muttered, the wall behind him crumbling.

"I'm not just fast," Gai told him shoving him through the wall, creating an opening a couple meters in diameter.

"Gai-sensei," Sakura muttered.

Kakashi leapt back and landed among them.

"Now, I will tell you the mission," he said. "When I'm finished, leave through that hole. Catch up with Sasuke and stop him. Then await further orders in a safe area."

"What's wrong with Sasuke?" Naruto asked rather loudly.

"I'll tell you while we're moving," Sakura whispered grabbing Naruto by the arm and dragging him towards the hole. "Iku zo."

Shikamaru watched as Sakura leapt out of the hole in the wall.

"Why me?" he asked.

"Hey kid," the dog spoke to him. "If you succeed in this mission, then I'll let you touch my pads as a reward. So don't be selfish."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Look," the dog said holding up one of his pads. "Soft and bouncy."

"Soft and bouncy…?" He was really confused.

"Actually," the dog said making sure he got a good look at his pad. "They're really soft and bouncy!"

Shikamaru looked at him as if he were speaking some unknown language. The dog just gave up.

"Let's just go." The dog bit into his hand and dragged him out through the hole.

"Oi!" he screamed in pain.

* * *

They landed on the ground next to Sakura and Naruto. The dog sniffed the air and led them off in a direction. Sakura began explaining what happened with Sasuke and before they knew it, they were in the forest.

"Sasuke no yatsu!" Naruto said. "He got too hasty."

"I understand that, but why am I here?" Shikamaru complained. "Fucking pain in the ass."(3)

"It couldn't be helped!" Sakura returned his gruff with disdain of her own. "Those were Kakashi-sensei's orders."

All was quiet after that. Shikamaru kept complaining to himself but he knew that there was nothing he could do about it. It just seemed like he had been forced to do things he did not want to do all of his life. He longed to be relaxing in the shade somewhere watching the clouds but this was neither the time nor the place.

"This way," Pakkun ordered, redirecting their path to the west taking them up amongst the trees.

"How long will it take for us to catch up to him?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not sure," Pakkun said. "He's moving pretty fast."

"Kuso!" Naruto swore.

Shikamaru echoed his sentiment but remained silent. The problems could not get any worse.

"Hey guys," Pakkun barked. "Pick up the pace."

He spoke too soon.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"You found Sasuke?" Naruto said hopefully.

"No," Pakkun said. "There are two platoons, eight people, after us. Wait. There's one more. So nine people are after us."

"What!" Naruto gasped.

"Oi, oi!" Shikamaru spoke. "Already? Jodan ja nai zo."

"They haven't found our exact location yet but we must lose them."

Pakkun led them back to the ground and after a few paces came to a complete stop. The three Genin just stood there waiting for him to say something. Naruto had limited patience so it did not take long for him to break the silence.

"Hey, why did you stop?"

"Shut up," Pakkun said. "And follow me."

Pakkun began retracing his steps making sure to step only in his previous footprints.

"By stepping backwards into our own footprints it will look like we just disappeared."

The three of them did as he instructed but this time it was Naruto's turn to complain.

"But even if we do this, they'll still figure out what we did."

"It will buy us some time," growled Pakkun. "That in itself is enough. Also, the pursuers will grow impatient and that will create a weakness in their pursuit."

Shikamaru leapt backwards on top of the branch next to Pakkun and Sakura. They watched Naruto slowly backing into his own footprints.

"If the don't find a clue leading to us, then that's even better."

"Hurry up!" Sakura said growing frustrated with Naruto's slowness.

"We don't have time to be dickin' around," Shikamaru added his own annoyance.

"Wakeru te, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted leaping backward to the tree limb as the others took to higher ground.

Naruto caught up with them quickly and they picked up the pace in an attempt to put some distance between them and their pursuers. Contemplating the situation in his mind, Shikamaru idly wondered if it could be helped.

"This is bad," declared Pakkun. "They're gaining on us even though they're being careful to watch out for ambushes."

"Kuso!" Shikamaru swore. "They all must be above Chuunin level. If they catch up to us, we'll be annihilated."

"Then…" Naruto muttered. "Then we should stop and hide to ambush them."

"Ambush," Sakura thought.

Shikamaru was already going over it in his mind.

"Sou ne," Sakura continued. "If we ambush them, then we have the advantage. Even if they have twice the people we do, it might work if we catch them off guard."

"It's not possible," Pakkun interrupted. "They're men of the former Konoha Shinobi, Orochimaru. "The worst case is that there are Jounins among them."

Shikamaru groaned.

"I thought it would work but it won't," he said.

"Chotto mate," Sakura said. "Why not? The enemy's level doesn't matter in an ambush."

"Yeah, why not?" Naruto chimed in.

"You guys don't know shit, do you?" complained Shikamaru. "It's true that ambushing is an advantageous basic tactic but in order for it to work, you must have cleared two conditions."

"And what are those conditions?" Naruto tried to hurry him along.

"First" he said holding up one finger. "The runner must move quietly and discover the enemy first. Second," He raised another finger. "He must secure a location from which he can hide and inflict critical damage on the enemy and quickly conceal himself in that location."

Naruto seemed confused but then again, when did Naruto not seem confused?

"Once you're able to fulfill those conditions, an ambush becomes a viable tactic." Shikamaru explained but they just stared at him as if expecting more. "Well, if we have the ninken's nose, then finding their location would be pretty easy. As for the second condition, it would appear that we have the advantage because this is our village and we know the terrain better but Orochimaru is from Konoha. If we're dealing with his men, then an ambush won't work."

"What are you trying to say?" Naruto asked frustrated by the explanation.

"The pursuers have been taught about the terrain and have most likely trained for this battle," continued Shikamaru. "On top of that, they're probably shinobi that have mastered the art of pursuit."

"So they'll know how we'll act," Sakura said dawning with enlightenment.

'Finally someone understands,' Shikamaru thought.

"An ambush is still advantageous but there are too many uncertain factors. Furthermore, the enemy is probably a squad designed for this specific purpose and as for us, we have a…"

"Baka," he said looking at Naruto.

"A kunoichi with no special traits," Sakura looked offended.

"Inu," he was calling out everyone.

"Nigeroshi No. 1, ore da ze,"(4) he finished with himself. Now having thoroughly offended everyone, he continued.

"A strategy is devised by understanding the situation and creating the best plan for that situation. So there's only one thing we can do right now."

"Only one?" Sakura asked.

"A feint operation that looks like an ambush," he said. "One of us will stay behind and set up things to look like an ambush and stop them."

"In other words," asked Sakura. "Become a decoy."

"Sou da," he added. "If that person can stop them, they will be unable to locate the other three. We will be able to lose the pursuers but the decoy will most likely…"

Every waited for him to finish. It was not something he wanted to think about.

"…die," he said solemnly.

They stopped for a moment, each one in their own thoughts trying to comprehend the situation. They couldn't even look at each other as the thought of one of them dying raced through their minds. Selecting which one to do it would be the hardest decision they had ever had to make. Shikamaru knew he was the right one for the job but he was denying that fact.

"So, any volunteers?" he asked but all he received was silence.

"We need the dog to find Sasuke," he thought out loud. "Which means…"

Unwilling to finish the sentence knowing it was the right thing to do, he tried to summon the courage and not hide behind the cowardice that currently plagued him.

"Wakatta dattebayo," Naruto grumbled behind him. "I'll…"

Somehow, in Naruto's courage, Shikamaru found some courage of his own and finished the sentence he had left open.

"…the only option left is me."

"Shikamaru," Sakura cried out.

"Why you?" Naruto asked.

Unwilling to turn and face them, he was torn by his will to survive and the desire to do the right thing.

"It's better than being annihilated," he said off-handedly. "Also, the only one in this group who could pull this off perfectly with a high chance of surviving…"

Having made his mind up, he flipped over the top of them and landed facing the opposite direction. He still could not bring himself to look at them.

"I am that person."

Having said that, he found it easier to look back. Casting a look over his right shoulder, he added.

"_Kage Mane no Jutsu_," he said. "The technique was originally designed to stop the enemy, anyway. I catch up to you guys later. Hurry up and go."

Finding it hard to disguise the emotion in his voice, he was not entirely too sure that he would be able to keep that promise.

"We're counting on you, Shikamaru!" Naruto gave his vote of confidence.

Shikamaru turned away not wanting Naruto's confidence in him to wane. If this plan was going to work, it was important for them to continue ahead. He just threw his hand up in a farewell salute.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto called.

* * *

Hearing them leave, he let his hand drop to the side. If you would have asked him this morning if he thought he would be in this situation, he would have laughed but that is what happens when you actually do something. He was one who longed for the path of least resistance, yet his stubborn nature would not allow him to sit idly by when he knew it was right. It was this very dichotomy that would ultimately be the end of him and the end seemed close at hand.

Dropping back along the path his friends had taken, he began looking for a place to hide. Discovering a grove of dense trees, he determined that this place would conceal him pretty well. He began planting evidence of the group's direction, while systemically covering their tracks. It was not perfect but it might be enough to fool the pursuers.

Crouching down behind one of the trees in the grove, he waited. The whole time, the debate over his life versus the success of their mission raged on inside his mind.

"I was able to get away easily," he thought out loud.

The presence of the pursuers was immediately recognized by him. It seemed they had fallen into his trap and not found the evidence leading towards the other three. He sighed. Maybe it could not be helped.

"The footstep intervals are irregular," said the lead pursuer. "Their impatience must be increasing their fatigue."

Shikamaru had a clear advantage. It was either now or never. Against what he would consider his better judgment, he went on the offensive but there was nothing he could do about it. It could not be helped. Splitting his shadow to capture multiple targets was not hard. He had practiced it before. It was holding down multiple targets that was physically draining. He felt the familiar tug that came when his shadow connected with another but this time it tugged a little harder. He widened his stance preparing for the inevitable.

"Warui na," he said, irony dripping from his voice. "I was supposed to be Mr. Escape(4) but it seems my role is a little different this time."

Raising his head a little to get a better look, he felt the energy draining from him as he spoke.

"It is true that I'm fatigued but you're wrong about the footprints." He lifted his hand that held a bundle of sticks. "This is what made those dog prints."

His shadow began to wax and wane under the pressure of holding so many. He was scrambling every ounce of stamina he could squeeze out just to maintain it.

"He's only a kid," the lead pursuer said. "To think we fell for this trick…"

"Is this the _Kage Shibari no Jutsu _of Konoha that I've heard about?" one of the other pursuers asked.

Disgusted and somewhat offended, Shikamaru retorted.

"Ha, that's the old way of saying it. The times have changed. They now call it _Kage Mane no Jutsu_, O-san."

He was assuming a lot there but there was no way these Oto fuckers would know any different. Holding his shadow was now becoming painful. If he had not fought in the exam earlier, he would have had more energy. He had already used up too much chakra and time was running out. He reached into his shuriken holster and pulled out four. He began counting the enemy shinobi he saw before him.

"Ichi, nii, san, shi, go, roku, shichi, hachi," he totaled the number but something was wrong. He remembered what the dog had said. There was another pursuer who had evaded his grasp and was probably hiding nearby. He pulled four kunai out of his pouch with his other hand. He needed to know where the last pursuer was and the easiest way to do that was attack the ones he already caught. Pulling the weapons up to his chest forcing the enemy to do the same, he launched all eight at once.

In a Sasuke-esque move he sent all eight right on target only to have them struck down by instruments of death from a location in a nearby tree. The Oto shinobi laughed at him but Shikamaru had located the last pursuer. He began to stretch his shadow in that direction only to have it stop a couple of meters from his body. He swore. Not having enough surface area to stretch only made the situation worse.

"It's useless," the lead pursuer told him. "We know how your technique works."

Shikamaru swore to himself.

"You've reached your limit. Your shadow technique will end soon. You'd better be prepared for what's coming," the man said.

Shikamaru just smirked at him before looking up to the clouds. The irony of the whole situation dawned on him again. It was not like him to head down this path and this path was leading to death.

They say that before you die, your life flashes before your eyes, recounting the things you have done in the past but Shikamaru saw the future. The one he had desired. Being a shinobi was a career to him. He did not desire fame or glory. He just wanted to live a normal life. Being paid for the work he did was all the reward he needed. Not expecting much from life, he only wanted to marry a woman who was neither too ugly nor too pretty. Two children would be enough. Perhaps, a daughter first, one that was not too troublesome, and a son later sounded quite nice. He could retire when his daughter got married and his son had chosen a career. Spending the rest of his days passing the time with Shougi or Go would have allowed him to die before his wife. He would have been content with a normal life but now…

'I've gotten myself into something troublesome,' he thought.

Looking back at the pursuers, he drew out every last bit of energy he had keeping his shadow in place.

"It's just like you said," he told them. "I've reached my limit."

With that, his energy completely drained and his shadow returned to him freeing his captives. The end was near and all he could do was grit his teeth and accept it.

"Oi, come on out," the lead pursuer ordered. "And pop off his head while you're at it."

Rustling in the tree limbs above him told him that the enemy was coming to take his life. The enemy landed quickly with a powerful thud which shook the ground beneath him. His eyes shot open in surprise and he was frozen like a deer in the headlights. He had accepted death but this still took him by surprise. His enemies were surprised, too.

"I finally caught up to you," the deep, recognizable voice said behind him.

Turning to look behind him, Shikamaru was astounded.

"Asuma! Nande?"

Asuma just smiled. Smoke from his cigarette steadily drifted upward like an enchanted serpent. He threw the body of the Oto shinobi he held beneath his arm to the side and made a dash straight for the lead pursuer. Asuma was a big man. Standing at over one hundred and ninety centimeters, he projected a commanding presence but he was also fast. His surprise entry had caused the pursuers to hesitate and that was all the time he needed.

His chakra-enhanced blade struck the lead pursuer in the face, sending a spurt of blood mixed with flesh and bone fragments. The man fell to the ground like a rag doll. The man next to Asuma panicked and caught the sharp end of his blade in the face, penetrating his skull and killing him instantly. Two Oto shinobi launched a couple kunai from across the grove that struck Asuma in the back. He was replaced with a log and the two shinobi never saw his next attack. Two more leapt in to attack only to be cut down by his blades.

Letting out a battle cry, he threw one pursuer into the last one knocking him unconscious. Asuma readied his blades to see if anyone was going to get up and challenge him again. After a quiet moment when no one moved, he let out a sigh drawing on his cigarette, stoking the cherry at the end into a warm glow.

"You did good, Shikamaru," he said surveying the damage.

The surprise was gone and with it the adrenaline. Exhaustion took over his body and Shikamaru collapsed to the ground. No longer staring death in the face, he relaxed but his relief was not sweet because he would not be able to catch up with the group. His hope was that they would get to Sasuke before something happened. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"This isn't my thing," he grumbled.

* * *

A/N: The fan-subs I have were done by Anbu and AnimeONE and they did an excellent job. However, there were a few cases where I felt the translation to be a little inadequate. Here, I'll explain.

(1) After Shikamaru's fight with Temari, Naruto calls him out to which Shikamaru responds, 'Urusai chou baka.' They translated 'Urusai' as "Shut up" but the dictionary definition of 'Urusai' is annoying, noisy, fussy or inquisitive. While I can understand their translation, I find the string of insults to be more fulfilling.

(2)During Naruto's rant, Shikamaru tells him. 'Mou ii darou' which they translated as"It's all good now". If you look at each word in the phrase, Mou meaning 'already or before long', Ii meaning 'good, fine or nice' and darou being a probability verb. One could say that it was more like "It's probably already enough". However the phrase, 'Mou ii' is used as "That's enough!" So the entire phrase is more likely to mean 'That's probably enough'.

(3) In this instance, Shikamaru says 'Kuso mendoukusai na' and they translated it as "How troublesome" Breaking down the words we have, Kuso literally meaning 'feces' but is also used as an expletive( I.E. Fuck! Damn! Or Shit!). Mendoukusai whose definition means annoying or tiresome but is often translated as 'troublesome or pain in the ass'(the dubbed series translates it as 'What a drag') and na being an adjectival particle. While 'how troublesome' can convey the meaning, 'fucking pain in the ass' conveys more emotion and contributes to the reason Naruto calls him foul-mouthed.

(4) 'Nigeroshi naambaa wan' is translated as "the number one coward" but the literal definition of the word is more interesting. Nigeroshi is derived from the verb 'nigeru' meaning 'to run away, to escape' while the suffix -shi means Mr., Mrs. Or Miss. Naambaa wan(No.1) is often used as a replacement word for the Japanese 'ichiban' meaning "the first, the best or the most". While 'the number one coward' has a ring to it, a more literal translation might be 'Mr. Escapes a lot' or 'the one who runs away the most'.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: First off, I would like to thank Big Paja for Beta reading. He has been both helpful and insightful. I'd like to thank all of you who continued asking me to update this story. The last three weeks or so have been really rough for me and it helped me remember to write. Although, it is difficult to write about life when you're surrounded by death.

I dedicate this chapter to my grandfather who passed away last week.

* * *

Chapter 23

As overcast skies reflected the somber mood of the day, people began to file away in small groups. There were things that had to be done. Life went on, well, except for the people whose funeral service they just attended. Shikamaru paused for a moment to look back at those who still remained. Unlike them, he held no deep-seeded emotional attachment towards the deceased. Never knowing any of them personally, he went through the service like everyone else. They had died for the village and he assumed that he would feel something for their deaths. Even though there were only a few who broke down and cried, he could tell what people were feeling. He was unsure of how to feel about their deaths and he idly wondered if that made him less human.

* * *

Even with the attempted destruction of the village, work was hardly at a stand still. They couldn't put missions on hold to rebuild the village because their clients would go elsewhere. No clients would mean no income and with that, it wouldn't take long for any society to collapse. Through all outward appearances, it seemed as if the number of missions had increased but in reality, the number of missions had stayed the same. It was the number of shinobi to complete those missions that had decreased making it seem that way.

Sometimes, it seemed that they would complete more than one mission in a day. A task Shikamaru was not entirely too fond of but regardless of whether or not he wanted the missions, it was something that had to be done. Asuma had been sent to cover the more dangerous missions leaving the three of them to handle the more trivial of pursuits. Without a Hokage, it was uncertain if they were going to be able to pull this off but the advisors had pulled them together. Which is why team ten was now walking back to the mission room having completed their third D-ranked mission of the day.

Tired as they were, they knew that they were most likely to receive another mission before the day was out. To keep from wearing themselves out, they were walking at a casual pace rather than rushing back to head out for another assignment. Shikamaru had become the new, unspoken leader of team ten. Unsure of when this had come about, he wondered why his teammates had taken to deferring to him for decisions. Even the bossy, loud-mouthed Ino didn't argue with him over team decisions and that's what scared him the most.

"You know," Ino complained. "We could get these missions done faster if Chouji wouldn't screw up so much." Chouji looked as if he had been wounded. "I mean, come on, if you trained a little more, you wouldn't make mistakes and we would all have more free time." Continuing her little rant, she didn't even look in the direction of the person she was belittling. "With more free time I could maybe…go visit Sasuke-kun in the hospital!" Her voice almost sounded cheery.

"Gomen," Chouji apologized, hanging his head in embarrassment. While it was true that he had made a few mistakes on their missions, it was nothing they couldn't handle. They _were_ Genin. It's not like they were expected to be perfect. Part of being a shinobi was learning from your mistakes and hoping that they didn't kill you. Plus, Ino had made her fair share of mistakes as well. As Shikamaru observed, her words seemed to carry some weight with Chouji, more so than with anyone else. Their team had a strange relationship.

"You shouldn't make fun of Chouji," Shikamaru scolded her. "He works harder than either of us. If he made a mistake, it's probably because we weren't holding our own." Ino appeared to take his words seriously and she cast an apologizing look in Chouji's direction which cheered him up. "Besides," he offered them. "Even though things don't always go as planned, we always complete the mission and make it back alive." With that, the conversation fell silent and the three of them kept walking.

With his hands in his pockets, he stared up at the sky contemplating whether things were going to turn out alright for their group when he felt a pair of skinny arms slip between his arms and his body and embrace him in a hug from behind. A pair of small, perky breasts pressed into his back and he gushed at the thoughts that went through his head. Not knowing how to respond, he just stopped walking and stood there willing his mind to overcome his hormones. His will would not have been strong enough but then she spoke and brought him back to reality.

"Shikamaru," Ino squealed into his ear. Finding it easier to be annoyed with her, his usual scowl returned to his face. Looking over at his friend, Chouji held the deepest concern for Shikamaru but he too was at a loss for what to do in this situation. Shikamaru gave him his best shrug of indifference in an attempt to set his friend at ease. Ino was never this friendly before and it had the both of them puzzled. "Do you know what next Tuesday is?" Ino asked with enthusiasm.

Thinking that he had nothing important planned for the next week, he wondered what Ino could be so excited about until he remembered what month it was and what day next Tuesday was. "It's my birthday," he answered irritated.

"Exactly," she squealed again, squeezing him even harder. For a second, his mask of indifference fell as once again his hormones coursed through his veins but he recovered as he remembered exactly who it was doing this to him. "And do you know what that means?"

His birthday was not something that he was overly excited about and he failed to see what caused her sudden interest in it. Even though he never really celebrated his birthday, he was just a year older and saw no reason to overtly revel in that fact but then again, this was Ino we're talking about. He knew the reason right away. "Next Wednesday is _your _birthday."

As if she had achieved a small personal victory, she squealed even louder and began jumping up and down, so much so that she forced herself to let go of Shikamaru, much to his relief. "You're so smart," she said with her own hint of sarcasm. Clasping her hands together, she gave him her prettiest smile, the one she reserved for manipulating her father. "So, what are you going to get me? What I would really like is…" and she began dropping not so subtle hints as to the things she expected for her birthday.

"Chotto matte," Shikamaru said holding up a hand to stop her. "I didn't know we were buying gifts for your birthday." Her face changed. She was trying to look angry but it came off more pouty than anything else. That only served to annoy him even further. "Besides, I didn't ask you to get me anything for my birthday." Chouji stepped up and placed a hand on his shoulder to convey that it would be wise not to say anything further.

"Friends always buy each other presents on their birthday, Shikamaru." Ino huffed as her angry face was now much more convincing.

"She's right, you know," Chouji said and Shikamaru looked over at his friend. "You all got me gifts for my birthday. We are friends as well as teammates. It would only seem logical." Shikamaru tried his best to convey the word 'traitor' with non-verbal language but his friend remained unaffected. He looked over toward Ino who was now looking away childishly with her arms behind her back and one foot drawing circles in the dirt. Raising a curious eyebrow, he looked at her questioningly.

Noticing that her teammates' attention was on her, she glanced up looking a little embarrassed. "I, uh," she fumbled her words. "I kind of already got you a present," she confessed. Even though he was slightly annoyed by her coyness, he had not expected her to think of him. Truth be told, he didn't think about his friends in that manner, therefore, he didn't expect them to either. These unwritten social standards proved to be more troublesome than anything else.

Closing his eyes and shaking his head, he let out a deep sigh that his friends and teammates had come to understand was his way of giving in to their argument. Clapping her hands wildly, Ino was once again excited at the prospect of the awkward social event. His friend gave him a pat on the back which was strong enough to dislodge phlegm and if it was anyone other than Chouji, he would have scowled at them with extreme prejudice. His two teammates resumed their walk.

"I hope they don't have another mission for us," Ino wished. "I want to go visit Sasuke-kun in the hospital. He looks so cool when he's unconscious." With her eyes staring off dreamily, she conjured the image of the sleeping Genin. Shikamaru was once again dumbfounded by how quickly a woman's mood could change and wondered if he would ever be able to understand them. Little did he know, that even if a man took an entire lifetime, he wouldn't be able to understand one percent of what goes on in a woman's mind.

* * *

When dealing with a problem, the first thing you do is identify the source and compile as much information as you can about it. He had known the source for twelve years and one would think that would be enough time to gather information. Even though he was tempted to just outright ask her what she wanted for her birthday, social etiquette prevented him from doing so or at least, that's what he was told. His second option was to find another source similar to the original and by default, that meant his mother.

While he did not want to ask his mother, options were thin in the Nara household and she was the closest female thing that he had. Which is why he was entirely surprised when she took the whole problem off his hands. Of course, she did so while calling the men in their entire clan useless but he could deal with it as long as she took care of the problem. His grandfather was visiting and in exchange for her help, he would have to hang out with him. Shikamaru could think of a lot more troublesome things to trade for. At least, he wasn't required to hang out with grandmother.

Because his grandmother had come to visit, his grandfather had suggested they go for a walk to which Shikamaru gave no opposition. The two of them probably could have walked in silence the whole time but Shikamaru had a thought that just kept bugging him. As he looked up at him, he was hesitant but he knew the man had many years of experience. He might provide him with some insight that would enable him to solve his problem.

"May I ask you something, Ojii-san," questioned Shikamaru. Even though the only reply he received was a grunt, the curious look on his grandfather's face told him that he was listening. "I've been having trouble understanding women. You've had a lot of experience with women so I was wondering if you knew something that could help me out?"

His grandfather let out a deep, raspy laugh that sounded foreign to the ears. Reaching over, he pulled his grandson closer to ensure that he would hear what he was about to say. "Because you're young, I'm going to tell you this now and try to save you from trouble in the future. It's entirely up to you whether or not you take my advice but remember that men have lived and died without ever figuring this out." Since he was waiting for a response, Shikamaru nodded. He looked around as if he was protecting a closely guarded man secret. Leaning in closer, he whispered to his grandson. "As men, we are completely incapable of understanding women."

How could this information help him? He was no closer to an answer and he thought his grandfather was joking. Shikamaru looked at him incredulously and the elder Nara fell into a raucous laughter. "It is the greatest irony of the universe," he told him. "The relationship between men and women is both glorious and disastrous at the same time. We can't live with each other and we can't live without each other. It's like the yin and yang. You can't have the good without the bad and you can't have the man without the woman."

"Jodan ja nai zo," said Shikamaru exasperatedly. "You're no help at all." Looking away from the old man, Shikamaru gave what amounted to being a sulk. One would think that the old man, out of professional courtesy and mutual aggravation, would be willing to share acquired knowledge with the younger generation but alas, he found himself no closer to the truth than when he started.

The old man quelled his laughter and placed a firm hand atop the boy's head. Ruffling his hair to get his attention, it loosened his ponytail enough to cause annoyance which was plastered on the boy's face. "I told you that it was up to you whether or not to take my advice. Greater men than you or I have tried and failed miserably to understand the female mind. I'd go so far as to say that if a man ever truly understood a woman, his head would explode from the overload." The old man laughed at his own joke. "Instead of understanding them, it would be wiser if you started learning to live with them."

Despite the annoyance at the lack of information, the old man did make some sense. While he respected his grandfather for who he was, he wasn't about to give up that easily. "My father seems to understand my mother." He had to think about what he said. "At least, I think so. He knows things about her that I can't figure out."

The old man smiled and kept walking. "That's because he knows how to live with her. I'm sure that if you asked him, he would have no idea what she was thinking. When you live with a woman long enough, you start to pick up certain signs when shit is about to happen and you learn when you need to be close and when you need to make yourself scarce. Although, your father was just like you when he was your age." A skeptical eyebrow rose.

"Oh, yes," Nara-san mused looking nostalgic as he recalled the memories of his son. "I remember that he ran away from home because he couldn't handle living with your grandmother." The thought brought an amused smile to his face. Shikamaru could understand his father's dilemma. His grandmother was the matriarch of troublesome women and it was a wonder how his grandfather ever decided to marry her. "Oh, it was a tragedy. Your grandmother found him and dragged his ass back home by the earlobe. The house wasn't quiet for a month." The smile faded from the old man's face.

Shikamaru noticed the change on his face and wondered what he was thinking about. Not wanting to be annoying, he was just going to remain silent but curiosity overtook him. "Sounds troublesome?"

"It was," he said. "It was." Looking at his grandson briefly, he reached into his sleeve and produced a pipe. Tapping the heel against his palm, he cleared the bowl before filling it with a few crushed leaves. Striking a match, he stoked it a few times before letting the smoke fill his lungs. Exhaling, he looked back at his grandson. "I didn't know how to handle your grandmother at that time and I made a lot of mistakes. I thought about running away myself but that would have only perpetuated her anger."

Shikamaru tried his best to convey a sense of understanding for the old man but it wasn't working. The old man saw that his grandson was trying and he smiled. "As men, we learn from our mistakes so that we know how to handle them better the next time they happen. I learned a lot from that experience." Smiling back at his grandfather, Shikamaru felt that while his grandfather hadn't exactly answered his question, he had at least given him some information worth knowing.

* * *

The day of his birth had come and gone without any fanfare. That is because their parents had taken the easy way out by combining their birthdays into one celebration at the Yamanaka household. Even though he was sure his father was too lazy to host a celebration, Shikamaru had no complaints. He would prefer no celebration at all but those who cared about him required his presence. Apparently, they also required proper attire. Fidgeting with his formal kimono, he cursed whoever conceptualized the birthday celebration. He wished those bastards a horrifyingly gruesome death.

"Stop it," his mother scolded him as she straightened his kimono. "You're messing it up." Wanting to tell her how much he hated this, he scrunched his face in discomfort but he held his tongue. His mother may have been one of the sources of his troubles but she was a kunoichi. She was still deadly and he wasn't inclined to see what she was capable of. When she finished straightening his kimono, she moved on to his hair. His face contorted from discomfort to pain. This was entirely unnecessary. He saw these people every day and he never dressed up for that.

His father knocked and they were greeted by the Yamanakas. The Akimichis were already there dressed in their traditional clothing and they looked so much more comfortable. Shikamaru was starting to understand what envy felt like. When the adults became engrossed in updating each other on their menial existences, he took the opportunity to slip away and find his best friend. Chouji had found something in the corner of the room to entertain himself with. Noticing Shikamaru's approach, he took a look at his garb and gave him a questioning look.

"Mom," offered Shikamaru. Nodding, Chouji went back to tinkering with the item in his hands. Conversation wasn't really required with them and that was one comfort he found in this whole situation. The two of them could have just stayed there for the entire time and been completely content but social functions required participation. It was only a matter of time before their comfort would be disrupted again.

"Hey, guys," Ino called from behind them. Chouji turned to look and greet her but Shikamaru wanted the solace to last just a little bit longer. Slowly turning to see her, he noticed that she was wearing a simple dress with an exotic floral print and a bright smile on her face. He found that he thought she looked pretty. This was probably why they had to dress up for this stupid event. "You look good," she told him.

Instinctively, he reached up and fidgeted with the annoying collar of his kimono. A curt grunt was all he gave her in response as he was reminded that he was forced to wear this troublesome thing. The smile fell from her face and he immediately grew worried. Her sudden mood changes were the cause of some of the strife in their team and he wasn't about to get into it at the moment. Never once did it cross his mind that he was somewhat responsible for her current mood change.

"You look gorgeous, Ino," Chouji cut in and she turned to smile at him. His kind words had a way of absolving a touchy situation and Shikamaru appreciated that at the current moment.

"Arigato, Chouji," Ino thanked him and cast one more wary glance at Shikamaru. "It's time to eat." With nothing else to say, she turned and sauntered away towards the dining room. Chouji cheered for the idea as he hurried after her. Lingering a bit longer, Shikamaru contemplated the event a minute earlier. It was starting to seem that his grandfather was right but he wasn't about to relent just yet. As he made his way to the dining room, he wondered if he was supposed to say something to her.

Ino's mother had prepared a rather tasty meal which Shikamaru thought was delicious compared to the slop his mother made him eat. He wondered if the Yamanakas would mind swapping children for a little while. His mother might enjoy having another woman around to conspire with but he couldn't do that to his father. He wouldn't wish that fate on his worst enemy, not even the ones responsible for birthday celebrations. Dinner moved into dessert and then into exchanging gifts. Something he hadn't thought about since he'd dumped the responsibility onto his mother.

Quickly finding her, she produced a small box tied with string and handed it to him. As she smiled down at him, he recalled his history with his mother and her smiles were usually precursors to troublesome events. Taking the gift with reluctance, he was unsure of what to do next. His mother leaned down and kissed his forehead, pointing him in Ino's direction. Moving cautiously, he made his way towards Ino, while wiping his mother's kiss from his forehead. Feeling a bit apprehensive, their exchange earlier made him wary of how she would react.

Akamichi-san had given Ino her gift and the two women were in a polite discussion over something Shikamaru could guess if he tried. Politely, he waited for them to finish. Patience with women was a staple of Nara men and that was one thing he had going for him. When they finished their conversation, Ino turned to him with a look of disappointment and he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck under her gaze. Dealing with women was ridiculously troublesome. "For you," he said extending the hand that held the box towards her.

She looked at the box skeptically before she took it from him and took her time unwrapping it. Watching her reaction closely, she was the closest thing he had for a subject of observation. Because he lived with his mother, the bias would be too great for a pure experiment. In spite of what his grandfather said, he would understand women. Opening the box and lifting the paper, she gasped and looked up at him smiling. He made a mental note that women know other women. This information would be useful in the future.

"It's beautiful, Shikamaru," she said pulling the object out of the box. "Thank you,"She said holding up a necklace with a silver charm in the shape of an exotic flower similar to the one on her dress. Shikamaru could only think that it was not a coincidence. Putting the necklace on, she let her fingers trail along the chain from the clasp to the charm as it rested right above her cleavage. He had to blink a few times to chase away unwarranted thoughts. One had to remain objective in order to eliminate bias in an experiment.

"Very nice," Chouji said joining them, a welcome distraction. Posing for Chouji, she looked happy again and Shikamaru wondered if it was the gift itself or just her own prerogative that had changed her mood. Looking at him, she sighed contentedly and then perked up as she remembered something. Turning around she grabbed a rather large box and thrust it into his arms. He just looked at the box as if expecting it to do something.

"It's my gift for you," she said excitedly clapping her hands in anticipation. Pulling the top off the box, he looked in and saw fabric. Curious, he reached in and pulled it out, holding it up to look at it. There was a deer drinking from a brook sewn into the top corner along with the kanji for Nara. The extensive calligraphy must not have been cheap. "I know how much you like lying down and watching clouds so I got you a blanket to keep you from getting dirty."

He would probably never use it because he watched clouds at random times and he wasn't going to haul around a large blanket with him everywhere. Looking over the top of his gift, he noticed that she seemed pretty excited about it and he knew that any comment he made would ruin the situation. She had taken the time to think about his lazy ass and that's more than he had done for her. Rather than becoming the catalyst for another mood change, he thanked her with a smile and she seemed pleased with that.

"Ometeto(1)," Chouji congratulated handing him a smaller box. Placing the blanket back into the box, he opened the lid of the smaller box and smirked at what he saw inside. Half a dozen little yellow spheres with the kanji for light printed on the side sat neatly in two rows. "For when you need to make more shadows," said Chouji.

"Thanks," Shikamaru said patting his friend lightly on the shoulder. Chouji rewarded his thanks with a huge grin and Shikamaru knew that Chouji was the best friend a guy could have. At this time, his parents walked up and greeted them. Yoshino pulled out a couple of books and handed them to him. They must have known him too well because they didn't even bother wrapping his gift.

"These are from us," his mother said smiling at him again. Shikamaru checked behind him just to make sure that nothing was sneaking up behind him. Satisfied that she wasn't springing a trap on him, he read the titles of the books. _Barriers, Seals and Traps: A Complete Guide to Useful Ninjutsu_ must be from his father and _Chivalry for the Modern Man_ must be from his mother.

"Read those," his father said. "You'll find them very helpful in life."

* * *

While the number of missions they had dwindled, they still hadn't heard from Asuma. A-ranked and especially S-ranked missions required a lot more time and the use of badass shinobi like Asuma, which is probably why they cost so much. Since those missions were such a large contributor to the village's funds, they were given the highest priority. The training of Genin would have to be put on hold until the mission requirements were met.

Word through the grapevine was that the advisors had negotiated the surrender and established a new treaty with Sunagakure no Sato. Even if they claimed that they were tricked into it, Shikamaru found it difficult to trust anyone who could be so easily deceived into treachery. While he was not old enough or experienced enough to know of the intentions of Suna, he wasn't entirely convinced that they wouldn't try it again. His encounters with their people thus far had left him questioning their sanity.

With his free time growing, he discovered that if he was reading one of the books his parents had given him, his mother would leave him alone. Even when she really, really wanted to interrupt him, she gave an impressive display of willpower to which Shikamaru was grateful but he wasn't into pressing his luck with her. She was a woman, after all, and at any point, the pendulum can swing in the entirely opposite direction. If this was the eerie calm before the storm, he decided to make himself scarce, not wanting to be there for the monsoon.

A friend could help time pass so he decided to head for Chouji's to see what he was up to. If anything, the two of them could watch clouds this peaceful afternoon without any unwanted interruptions. When he arrived at Chouji's house, he was dismayed to find that his best friend was not home. Chouji's mother informed him that he might be found training down by the river. Curiously, Shikamaru wondered who would willfully train on their day off but he remembered how Ino had berated him about it before. He decided to check on his friend as he was unsure of how Chouji was doing.

As he walked the path towards the river, he felt an earthshaking rumble beneath his feet as well as the sound of crushing rocks. Unwilling to walk blindly into destruction, he took to the trees until he was high enough to get a clear view of the riverbank. There, amidst the rubble in front of the flowing stream of the river, stood his best friend panting in an attempt to catch his breath. Undeniably, Chouji was the cause of the destruction but Shikamaru was more concerned with his friend's wellbeing.

Just like that, Chouji slapped his hands together in a seal and began molding chakra. Even from this distance, Shikamaru could feel the intense pressure of the chakra and grew worried because he had never felt a chakra like this before, particularly from Chouji. It was strong almost like the air pressure around him was increasing, making it harder to breath. In an instant, his friend of small stature was bigger than a two-story building. His immensity was astonishing.

Chouji reached down, picking up a boulder that to him was now the size of a large rock, and hurled it at the nearby waterfall rearranging the flow of water and causing the earth to shake again. Shikamaru swore to himself as he held on to the trunk of the tree for support to keep from falling off. He watched wide-eyed as Chouji stood up straight and admired his handiwork. His friend was a colossus capable of more destructive force than most shinobi he knew.

As quickly as he'd grown, the technique dispelled and Chouji was back to his normal size. Plopping down on the ground, he sat there struggling to catch his breath again. That technique must require a lot out of him. Shikamaru was worried about his friend and tempted to move in to inquire as to his condition when a butterfly floated over in front of Chouji. He held up a finger and the insect landed on his finger as if it wasn't afraid, placing a big smile on his face.

Shikamaru smiled, too. His friend would be fine and Chouji wouldn't push himself too far. Realizing his presence wasn't required here, Shikamaru turned to slip away but took one last look at his best friend. If he could choose anyone to wield such an amazing power, he would definitely choose the good natured person in front of him.

* * *

Some decisions are tough. They strain the psychological, emotional and intuitional aspects of the human mind. Often, they pit multiple outcomes against each other in which there is no clear-cut answer and one has to live and die with the consequences of his decision. People will often prepare themselves to make difficult decisions, weighing their options beforehand in an attempt to make the correct decision should the problem arise in the future. When faced with the choice of staying home with his mother or accompanying his father into town for business, Shikamaru chose the latter, fully understanding the effect of the universal consequences caused by his decision.

When his father had business, it was usually mundane and involved little to no effort. He would sign a paper here, collect a payment there, drop off an order and pick up some paperwork. It was nothing overly exciting but Shikamaru wasn't into exciting. The fact that his old man walked a slow pace didn't expedite matters either but it was a relaxed pace which suggested comfort and leisure. To the unperceptive eye, it would appear lethargic and sluggish but to Shikamaru, it was stability and reassurance. Rather than worrying that life would pass him by, he was taking the time to absorb all that life had to offer.

Their last stop was the Hokage tower which had remained largely undisturbed through the attack on the village but to this point, it still held no permanent tenant. The village had pretty much re-stabilized itself but the need for a strong leader had remained largely unfulfilled. Of course, there had been many rumors as to who would be chosen as the new Hokage but rumors spread like weeds and are equally as unappealing. Even so, people chose to believe them and passed them on without regard. Shikamaru couldn't understand the need for misinformation but society seemed to thrive on it.

Climbing the curved steps outside the Hokage tower, Shikamaru heard a familiar voice speaking at a ridiculously high volume. When they reached the top of the steps, two young women were walking away from a very aggravated Naruto. Shikamaru called out to his friend as he approached. "Naruto ja nai ka?"

The aggravated look on Naruto's face was quickly replaced with one of confusion. "Are? Shikamaru?"

"Why are you here?" asked Shikamaru. His father stopped to greet the young women.

Naruto's aggravation quickly returned. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I'm not sure, but my old man asked me to come." When Naruto seemed distracted by something, Shikamaru turned around to see his father. His father seemed to be carrying on a familiar conversation with one of the women and it piqued his interest. "Hey, Naruto," he whispered. "Who's that cocky, young woman?"

"She's the new Hokage," Naruto whispered back. Shikamaru reeled. This was worse than all the rumors. "And she may look like that but she's actually an old woman in her fifties." Shikamaru reeled again. This was entirely too much surprising information to be had at one moment.

The women waved farewell to his father as they began descending the steps and his father responded in kind. Naruto took off after them mentioning something about going to the hospital but Shikamaru's mind was trying to grasp the revelations of the last few minutes. To him, it was as if the world had come undone. Naruto stopped to shout back something about a new technique but Shikamaru had one thing on his mind. "Are ga… Godaime?" he said and his voice cracked a little.

"Oi, Shikamaru," his father said. Walking around to stand beside him, Shikaku bent over to get eye level with his son. "She is the strongest and most beautiful person here." Shikamaru was more confused. "Because she is one of the legendary Sannin."

Shikamaru looked away and sighed. There was still one piece of information that he just couldn't process and it was bugging him. "A woman as the Hokage?" he asked. "I don't really like women," he said without thinking about how it sounded. His father gave him a questioning grunt but he never turned to see the look on his face. "They say whatever comes to their mind. They're always scheming and I don't know whether they even like each other or not." He was not finished with his little rant either. "Besides," he crossed his arms as if to emphasize the statement. "They think that they can control men and make them do whatever they want. They're just troublesome."

Shikaku sighed and threw an arm around his son. "Shikamaru, yo," he grunted. "Without women, men cannot be born. Without women, men will become useless." Standing up straight he turned and walked towards the entrance. "No matter what kind of woman she may be, she will show her nice side to the man she loves."

Looking at his father's back, Shikamaru could only think about how wrong that statement was. Just by observing his parents' relationship alone, he had never seen anything to justify that statement. His old man was just pussy-whipped. Laughing, his old man must have been thinking upon similar lines. "When you're older, you'll understand," Shikaku said with a smile and then, as if remembering something important, he tensed and lost his smile. "Oops, we'd better hurry up and finish our business here," he ordered turning to walk inside. A hand reached up and rubbed the back of his head cheekily. "If we're late, your mother will scold me again. Hurry up, Shikamaru."

Even if he tried, Shikamaru couldn't think of a more contradictory conversation that he had had with his father. It was as if the man viewed the world in a completely different way compared to reality. To him, his own personal hell was a magnificent heaven that only he could see and he was content with that. Closing his eyes, Shikamaru sighed and mumbled under his breath. "And then there are men who are completely useless with women around."

Irony is a cruel, bitch mother because it became a self-fulfilling prophecy or perhaps it could have been the power of suggestion. They _were _late arriving home and his mother _did_ scold his father about it. Shikamaru wanted to laugh but found it entirely too troublesome to do so. It had seemed as though his father had given up on life when he married his mother but Shikamaru was sure that there was more to it than that. It would have to be something he would figure out on his own.

* * *

Doing chores was a pain in the ass and if his mother were not within earshot, he would have probably expressed that opinion verbally. Yoshino had taken her son's time back seeing that the village had relinquished it back to him. Now, he couldn't even use reading as an excuse and it seemed his mother was not short on things to gripe about. He could only assume that his father had done something to piss her off again and no one was safe from her wrath. Managing an excuse to be out of the house today, his father had managed to stave off punishment.

Toiling under a heavy sun caused beads of sweat to drip from his forehead each time he stabbed the earth with an angry thrust of the shovel. Working in the garden with your mother was not the ideal way to spend the morning but Shikamaru found himself doing just that. A shadow cast over him giving him temporary relief from the hot sun until he recognized the shape of the shadow. Turning with a squint, he looked up at the towering figure that stood before him.

"Hisashiburi da na(2)," the figure said and Shikamaru recognized the voice immediately.

"Asuma," he said standing up to greet his sensei. Even though it had been a while since they had seen each other, there were no hugs or signs of personal affection. There were no handshakes or 'How you doing's', just a lop-sided smirk and a cheesy grin that said everything. Whether he would admit it or not, Asuma played just as big a role in his life as his father and it was good to finally see him again.

Surveying the landscape, Asuma could tell that he was doing his chores and felt somewhat sympathetic towards the young man. With Yoshino within earshot, he asked, "Do you have a moment."

Casting a wary glance to catch his mother's reaction, Shikamaru was relieved when she gave him the go ahead. Dropping the shovel, he led Asuma out of the garden so that they wouldn't have to stand around in the dirt. When they reached the edge, he turned to face Asuma who had a knowing look on his face. Even though he was a bit apprehensive, he asked anyway. "What is it?"

"The Hokage wants to see us," Asuma said. Now there could have been a few reasons why the Hokage would want to see them. Maybe she just wanted to introduce herself to the new shinobi personally. That's something a woman would do. Maybe they screwed up on one of their missions and she was going to scold them. That's another thing a woman would do. Unconsciously, Shikamaru glanced in his mother's direction as he thought about it. Asuma must have caught the glance because he addressed Yoshino directly. "Nara-san, would you mind if I borrowed your son for a while?"

At first, she looked disgruntled as she leveled he eyes at her son like it was his fault he was being requested. Shikamaru wondered which angry woman he'd rather face: his mother who was loathing his very existence right now or the Hokage who's purpose was an unknown but equally as scary. However, the decision was not left up to him and his mother relented but not without warning. "Don't think this gets you out of doing your chores."

The Hokage it was then. He began to mentally prepare himself for the verbal abuse he was fully expecting to receive as Asuma and he left the house en route to the Hokage tower. When they made no direction changes towards his teammates' houses, he began to wonder about this whole meeting. "Are Chouji and Ino meeting us there?" he asked his sensei.

"Nope, but they will be meeting us afterwards," Asuma told him and left it at that. Now, it was really looking like he was being singled out for something and he couldn't quite put a finger on it. They had been cautious enough not to write any mistakes into their mission reports and he had personally given the verbal reports so that they were close to exemplary. The only thing it could be was that someone filed a complaint against him and he knew exactly who it was. The woman who had hired them for their last mission had not liked him very well. In fact, she had complained to his face but he thought that it was over when the mission was complete. Maybe he was wrong.

Arriving at the Hokage tower just in time to make their appointment, the two of them walked up and knocked on the office door, waiting for a call to enter. Shikamaru found out that no matter if it's good or bad when you're anticipating something, the waiting is the hardest part. Nerves become edgy and palms begin to sweat. The mouth dries and standing still inevitably becomes the most difficult objective to accomplish. Trying to placate himself, he reminded himself that this wasn't the first time a woman would scold him and it probably wasn't the last. However, this was the first time he would ever stand in front of the woman Hokage and he really wished that he was elsewhere.

The call to enter came and Asuma opened the door allowing Shikamaru to enter before him. Being the first time that he'd ever seen the Hokage's office, he had expected something a bit more grandiose but the simplicity gave him a sense of ease. He also found that the office was occupied by more than the Hokage at the moment. Scanning the room, he saw the young woman whom he was sure was the Hokage's attendant. A few other familiar faces that he'd seen at the Chuunin exams were also present but the last one came as a surprise to him.

His father stood off to the side and held a guilty smirk on his face. Shikaku had known he was going to be here and had neglected to mention it to him. Now he was going to get scolded by a powerful woman in front of his father. I guess payback's a bitch. Trying his best to look unfazed by the number of eyes now cast upon him, he stood at attention and swallowed the lump in his throat. Facing the Hokage who was seated at her desk, he put on his most apathetic look in an attempt not to wither under her scrutinizing gaze.

"He looks just like you, Shikaku," she said without taking her eyes off of him. "I can definitely tell he's a Nara. The hair is a dead giveaway." She finally looked away from him to one of the papers on her desk. Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief. For a woman, she could be very intimidating. No one said anything and the dead silence that Shikamaru would normally have enjoyed was now penetrating. Even more depressing was the fact that everyone seemed happy about his demise.

Fighting the urge to defend himself, he shoved his hands in his pockets so no one could see them shaking. A bead of sweat fell from his brow as he contemplated various excuses he might be able to use. Wanting to appear competent, he quickly threw out the overused and irrelevant ones. Although the Hokage looked young, she was in her fifties and was probably very cunning and experienced. It would take his best skills to get out of this one. Even though he knew better, he felt compelled to say something because the silence was unbearable. "Godaime-sama, I'd like to apologize."

The Hokage's smile dropped and she raised a questioning eyebrow. "Apologize?" she asked. "There's no need to apologize. I didn't call you here for a reprimand. Hasn't Asuma told you?" She looked quizzically at Asuma who was somewhat successful at suppressing his laughter. At this point, pretty much everyone else there was suppressing their laughter too. The only thing more embarrassing than being scolded was being made a fool of. "We're here to discuss your promotion."

Promotion? This was the first he had ever heard of it. Why him? He hadn't done anything to stand out. Hell, he hadn't even tried so why are they even considering it. Thinking back to the third exam, he'd almost kicked himself. Why did he let a woman push him into fighting? Letting his prejudices and his stubbornness push him into fighting better. If he would have known, he would have given up sooner. Now, a good long-term plan was going to waste and he would have to rethink his entire life.

"To be honest," the Hokage started dropping her hands into her lap. "I'm not quite sure of what to do. It is the opinion of some that there should be no qualifiers this time due to the fact that the exam wasn't completed." She reached over and picked up a brush from a box on her desk. "However, it has reached me that the Sandaime was extremely impressed with your fight." Cursing himself, Shikamaru had never desired to impress anyone. She dipped the brush in the inkwell. "I even heard that he considered recommending you for promotion himself."

Writing in the file on her desk, she kept talking without offering him a chance to speak. "All of the other Daimyo as well as the examiners share the same sentiment." Finished writing, she set the brush down and looked him in the eye. "Since that is the case and I was not here to see the fight, I don't think there is anything more for me to say on the matter." Even though she graced him with a smile, Shikamaru couldn't help but feel a small part of him die on the inside.

"Therefore," she resumed. "Continue to work hard and do not bring any disgrace to your hitai-ite." At the word, he glanced down to his arm and mused over the symbol of his village. It reminded him of what he was representing and it scared him a little. "Ometeto," she congratulated him. "From this day forward, you will be a Chuunin." It was at this point that he had finally realized why everyone was smiling and he was afraid he was going to let them down. "Dismissed."

The examiners began to file out of the room and his father walked over to him with a proud smile on his face. "You did very well, son. Try not to look so depressed." Finally looking up at his father, Shikamaru managed to give him a fake half-smile. "I have to take care of some business now but this afternoon I'll teach you a new clan technique." With a rough pat on the shoulder and a warm smile, his father left the room.

The Hokage's attendant walked over and handed him a forest green flak vest. She smiled and congratulated him and he thanked her in return. Holding up the vest, he inspected it with his eyes. While it was a little big for him, he was sure it wouldn't encumber him too much. The heaviest thing was the responsibility that came with it. Whether he liked it or not, the timetable of his life had been pulled dramatically forward. Sliding the vest on and zipping it up, he had always seen himself watching clouds and growing up slowly but now he was carrying the burden of responsibility a lot earlier than he intended.

The click of a lighter brought him out of his thoughts as Asuma lit up a fresh cigarette. Seeing the worry on the young man's face, Asuma gave him an encouraging smile. "Come on," he said. "Let's go get some barbeque to celebrate. Ino and Chouji will meet us there."

* * *

Arriving early, they took a seat as well as the liberty of ordering a rather large amount of meat in anticipation of their teammates' arrival, one in particular. Shikamaru, though, was lost in his own thoughts, trying to find his own reason for being promoted so soon. Asuma looked over at his student and understood what the child was going through. Now there were new expectations and people would be watching him closely to see exactly how he would fare. It was a burden he had never really desired. "Shinpai suru na," Asuma told him but Shikamaru just looked out the window. "You will be an excellent Chuunin, whether you know it or not."

"Eh?!" two familiar voices exclaimed as they joined him. Taking a seat opposite them, they stared at him as though he were a piece of meat. Even if they were his teammates, at the moment they were ogling him with a mixture of pride and envy and it only made him feel worse. "Even though you always lack the will to do anything, you look a bit more serious now." Ino said through a cheesy grin.

Chouji laughed. "It doesn't suit you at all." Shikamaru could only grumble as he tried his best to kill them with his eyes. For once in his life, he wished he had a doujutsu. The embarrassed look on his face only served to make his teammates laugh harder. Even Asuma had a good laugh at his expense.

"Well," Asuma managed through the laughter. "For now, let's have a toast." When everyone quieted down, he lifted his glass. "To Shikamaru's promotion." He gave them a wink as if it were some sort of inside joke. Shikamaru's worry was now thoroughly gone because it had been replaced by utter embarrassment.

"Itadakimasu!" Before anyone could offer up cheers, Chouji dove into the meet, skillfully collecting most of the slices that were sizzling on the grill and in a delicate manner placed them all in his mouth at once, much to the chagrin of the others there. Ino, particularly, felt the need to voice her opinion on the matter.

"Oi, Chouji," she scolded. "Don't start eating before we've made our toast!" Chewing his mouthful, Chouji looked at her with concern as if she had misunderstood something. Swallowing his bite, Chouji explained himself.

"It would be a waste if we let them burn." The concern in his voice was more for the meat than it was for Ino's impudence.

"There is plenty of meat," Asuma said. "So eat up." Chouji cheered for the idea and it had seemed that his team was back to normal. At least, they weren't concentrating on him and that suited him just fine. Chouji, as always, held Asuma to his promise and ate as soon as the meat was ready on the grill. Shikamaru, however, did not feel like eating, although he tried.

Eating like a machine, Chouji consumed most of the meat that had the luck of landing on the hibachi. Apparently, Asuma and Ino had not quite grown used to Chouji's eating habits as they watched in amazement. Although Ino had her concerns. "If you keep eating like that you'll end up in the hospital again. Don't you know how to slow down and enjoy your food more?"

"Ino," he said between bites. "I know how to enjoy food even if I consume a lot of it." He reached over and began pulling more meat off the grill. Asuma let out an exasperated sigh as sweat rolled down his face. Ino threw one piece of meat on the grill as that was the amount she was accustomed to. Flipping it once, she let it cook through on the other side. However, when she was distracted, Chouji reached in and pulled the piece of cooked meet from the grill and Ino became furious when she noticed.

"Chouji," she yelled. "That's the last piece I put on the grill!" Making an attempt to retrieve the aforementioned piece of meat, she swooped in with her chopsticks but Chouji skillfully dodged her attack, even raising his free arm to block future ones. When Ino realized that it was as futile as taking a piece of meat from a hungry lion, she huffed in defeat. Chouji took on a serious look as he held the meat a few centimeters form his face.

"This is the last bite," he said stoically. "It is the final one and, therefore, it is the one most suitable to be enjoyed." Looking at Ino out of the corner of his eye, Chouji maintained the serious façade. "No matter the cost, I will not relinquish this right to anyone." With that, he slid the sizzling, tasty piece of meat into his mouth and chewed slowly allowing the flavor to roll across his taste buds.

"Why are you trying to act so cool?!" Ino yelled in frustration. Her temper was flaring and while this was not unusual, it was the first time she lost it at the dinner table. "Baka!" Standing up, she pointed at him in frustration. She had somehow felt attacked by his nonsense and was feeling the urge to retaliate. "That's why everyone makes fun of you, de…"

"Ino," Shikamaru interrupted knowing exactly where she was going. This situation had happened before and he knew if he didn't stop it now that it would escalate into something much more troublesome. "You know that's a taboo." Turning to look at his best friend, Shikamaru knew that it was unfair to just scold one and not the other. "And Chouji, eating is not a battle. You should relax while you're eating." Ino relaxed and sat back down. Chouji let out a guilty chuckle.

"Chouji," Asuma spoke for the first time in a while. "All you do is eat. You should train sometime." Even though the words were meant to be helpful, Shikamaru could see the negative impact they were having on his friend. Chouji swallowed the last bite and looked down solemnly. After that, the table remained silent. Asuma got up to pay the bill and Shikamaru went to use the restroom. After washing his hands, he found that there were no paper towels with which to dry them so he shook them dry. As he neared the entrance, he overheard a conversation between his teammates.

"You have it so easy," Ino told Chouji. "You can eat all you want without caring about how you look. I have so much trouble dieting."

"Why are you dieting, Ino?" Chouji asked with confusion in his voice.

"A woman always desires to look good for the cute guy she likes." There was a dreamy sound in her voice.

"But what if that person doesn't like thin girls?" Chouji asked almost sounding desperate.

"Regardless of the situation," she told him confidently. "Men always like women who aren't fa…" She caught herself knowing that the situation could get out of hand. "I mean, women who are thin." She paused for a second and her voice almost became seductive. "And vice versa."

Chouji didn't say anything but Shikamaru knew that his friend was not too fond of the last part. He must have given her a face because she giggled at him. "Chouji, you should care a little more about how you look," she told him. Turning to walk away, she sang over her shoulder. "Or else no one will like you."

Shikamaru laughed aloud. "Man, she has no idea, does she?" Chouji looked at him quizzically as he didn't even notice his presence until now. "Men don't like skinny women as much as she thinks. Most prefer a woman with nice curves." He watched as Ino exited the restaurant. Stepping out into the hallway, he finished the statement. "And vice versa, right?" He winked and turned to see his best friend. "I bet Ino would be more popular if she put on a few pounds." As if to prove his point, he puffed out his cheeks in an attempt to look fatter.

Chouji let out a hearty laugh that instantly made Shikamaru feel better about himself. His kind friend had a way of making someone feel at ease. "Shikamaru, you're always funny as well as smart," Chouji complimented. Shikamaru looked at him questioningly. He had thought that he was supposed to cheer Chouji up so why was Chouji complimenting him? "I've always known you were a far greater person than Sasuke or that Neji guy, Shikamaru."

Blinking a couple of times, Shikamaru tried to comprehend what his friend was trying to say. While a compliment did mean a lot coming from Chouji, this particular one almost sounded unbelievable. It was as if his friend were trying to return the favor and cheer him up as well. "I've never thought about it," he said looking away. "I'm just me."

"Well," Chouji pointed out. "You were the only one to get promoted during this year's Chuunin exam."

"But if we had to fight, you'd probably be stronger, right?" This was turning into an argument. "If I had fought you, I probably would have given up as well."

"But Sensei says that all I do is eat and that I never improve…" This harmless argument had taken a serious turn. Chouji cast his eyes downward in humility.

"I told you that I am me and you are you." He took a step closer to his friend. "It's retarded to think about who is better at what." Placing a hand on Chouji's shoulder, he waited for his friend to look up so he could look him in the eye. "There is no point in letting what Asuma said get to you. All you need to worry about is living life naturally and comfortably." Chouji smiled again and Shikamaru felt that his job there was done. "I'll see you later. I've got to go home now. My father told me that he wanted to pass on a new, troublesome clan technique to me." He turned to walk away but Chouji called out to him.

"Shikamaru," he said. Shikamaru stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "Shugyo ganbatte yo(3)!" Shikamaru acknowledged and continued walking. Chouji was a good guy regardless of what people said about him. Deep down inside though, Shikamaru wondered if he needed to take his own advice.

* * *

"Did you know that you can physically attack with your shadow?" his father asked. They were standing in a field on the edge of their property amongst the wild grass. "Once an opponent is captured by your shadow, you gain physical control over their body but you can also attack." His father's shadow flickered and then stretched out until it connected with his. "Simply by changing the last few seals in the sequence your shadow can extend as a hand enabling you to suppress or even choke your opponent." His father ran through a few seals and he could feel something spiraling up his leg and then his torso.

He became worried when it got closer to his neck. The feeling of not being in control of your own body was overwhelming. He could understand why opponents feared this technique. The hand stopped just short of his neck much to his relief before trailing back down body and his father's shadow disengaged from his and slithered back to his father. Choking the life out of someone was a rather cruel way to kill but also rather effective. It would enable him to inflict damage from a distance.

"_Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu_ is a killing technique," Shikaku said. "Because of its lethality, we normally don't pass it on until we feel they are ready to burden the responsibility of lethal force." His father looked at him with pride as he spoke. "Now that you are a Chuunin, you will be given tougher missions and some which will require the use of lethal force which is why I have chosen to show you now." Shikaku looked off into the distance as if in deep thought. "I do not know when the situation will arise in which you will be forced to use it but it will come. I pray that when the time comes, you will be able to." Shikamaru nodded in understanding.

"Practice the seals and learn them by heart so that you will not falter in the moment of truth." Shikaku looked to the setting sun in the distance and a thought struck him. "Let's get home," he said. "You know how angry your mother can get when we're late. We will train again in the morning." With that, the two of them started the slow trek back home, neither in a hurry to get there. Shikamaru thought of the events of the day and how much his life had changed in such a short period of time.

That night, as he prepared for bed, he removed his flak vest and laid it upon his dresser. Staring at it, he wondered when he became the responsible type. The irony of the whole situation was that he never desired it in the first place. Whether or not he wanted it, he was more responsible now and he would just have to change his life's plan. A task more easily said than done. Sleep came to him that night but it came late as he formulated a new plan in his mind.

The morning came too early for him and his father as well. His mother saw to that. Slipping on his fishnet shirt, he went downstairs and joined his father at the breakfast table. His father looked no worse for wear than he did but he was sipping on some tea in an effort to wake up. Shikamaru chose to forgo the tea as he'd never really developed a liking for it. Letting out a deep yawn, he heard his mother coming out of the kitchen.

"Hurry up and eat, Shikamaru," Yoshino scolded. "Your father has a mission today. Meaning that you don't have a whole lot of time for training this morning." She reached over and refilled his father's cup of tea. Shikamaru sighed and looked down at the plate of food before him.

"Hai, hai," he grumbled and it seemed to irritate her.

"You only have to say it once," she said but was interrupted by the doorbell. Setting down the teapot, she turned to answer the door. "I wonder who could be here this early?" Shikamaru wondered why she had to be so fucking troublesome in the morning. As she left the dining room, Shikamaru had a thought.

"Na, oyaji," he whispered to his father who grumbled something in response. "Why did you marry such a troublesome woman?" His father closed his eyes and swished the tea around in his mouth. He seemed to be contemplating the question, searching for the right answer.

"Sou da na," he mumbled. "Your mother may be like that but there are times when she has a kind smile." He thought about it for a moment. "I guess that's why." Taking another sip of his tea, he said no more.

"That's all?" Shikamaru asked but his father never responded.

"Shikamaru," his mother interrupted sounding more pleasant than earlier. "The Godaime's messengers are here to see you." He looked at her quizzically but got up to see what the messengers needed. Arriving at the door, he found two of the examiners from the first exam standing in front of him.

"The Godaime has a mission for you, hurry up," the one in bandages said. Nodding, Shikamaru went upstairs to grab his things. He almost forgot to put on his vest but as he picked it up, he noticed something else. Next to the vest on the dresser was a small box that held one of his birthday presents. Not knowing what the mission entailed, it was better to be prepared. Reaching inside, he pulled out one of the yellow balls and placed it in his pouch. Walking down the stairs, he slid his vest on and headed out the door.

* * *

A/N: (1) Ometeto - Congratulations

(2) Hisashiburi da na - It's been some time or It's been awhile

(3) Shugyo ganbatte yo - Shugyo = Training, Ganbatte = Work Hard or Do your Best, yo - Exclamatory particle.


End file.
